The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn About 'Jutsus'
by Bowl0f0ranges
Summary: As the west didn't have much to offer for Edward, he tried his luck in the east. Months later and heavier with knowledge of Xingese Alchemy as well as the one or other myth, he continued his journey even farther east. His destination were the Elemental Countries and his goal to learn something new...
1. How To Make Friends

**I write this here once and for all following chapters:**

 **Disclaimer:  
** I neither own any of the characters, nor do I earn anything by writing this story. I merely had an idea and felt the urge to write it down - maybe some of you like it, maybe not; either way I don't earn anything by posting it here.

 **Spoiler warning:**  
This story takes place after both mangas (but before Naruto Gaiden) - so if you haven't finished Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist yet and don't want to stumble upon bits of information you haven't read yet, you probably shouldn't read this story!

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" _The limited circle is pure."_

― _**Franz Kafka**_

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 _Lesson 1: How to make friends..._

Sighing heavily, he let his tired body flop down on one of the few vacant barstools and snatched a menu from a stand on the counter. He'd opted for the spot because it had been the only one leaving at least one of his sides unoccupied and the guy to his right was clearing his plate of the last few bits of his meal with such a grace, that he hoped he wouldn't be engaged in a conversation and if so, the fella'd at least be sophisticated enough to get the _underlying_ message, that he wasn't interested in small talk, if he kept his answers curt.

He just hoped the barstool to his left would remain vacant – who knew which freaks he'd find in an établissement like this…

As his journey to the west hadn't exactly been fruitful, he had decided to try his luck in the east, just like his brother. He had been traveling with him and the beansprout girl through Xing for almost a year, studying their form of Alchemy – _Alkahestry_ as they called it – on their way and collecting as much information about it along the road, as possible. It had taken him five months to finally get the gist and not only _sense_ the _'Dragon's Pulse'_ – a form of natural energy flowing within the earth – but also _form_ and _direct_ it according to his will. Afterwards it had taken him another five to perfect his skills to his satisfaction, before he decided to continue his travels once again on his own.

Thankfully his craving for knowledge concerning Alkahestry had required the study of the Xingian language in spoken and written form as well (as the rice grain girl hadn't been his only tutor and most of the books he'd gotten his hands on on their way, were _logically_ written in Xingian), otherwise he wouldn't have been able to read the menu his eyes were currently skimming.

It had been a _pain_ to remember all those strange characters – and such a freaking _lot_ of them! – but the fact that it seemed to be his only chance of regaining the ability to perform at least _some_ kind of Alchemy again, was enough motivation to drill them into his head. And of course it hadn't taken him too long – he was a _genius_ after all…

"'You ready to order?", a rather annoying female voice broke his concentration and when he briefly glanced over the edge of his menu, the expectant look directed at him confirmed his suspicion, that she had indeed been talking to him. He scanned the page a last time, before he closed the booklet noisily and stuck it back into the stand beside him.

As he had never heard of most of the dishes before – the ones he'd tasted in Wind Country being _totally_ different – he decided to simply order the first three salads, soups, meat and fish dishes and made an effort to ignore the flabbergasted look he earned from the waitress. When she finally turned to forward his order, he slumped over the bar and buried his head in his crossed arms to doze a little until his food would arrive.

He was so _tired_.

If he hadn't been so _hungry,_ his first priority would have been searching for a nice little room to drop off in. But as his stomach wouldn't have allowed him any sleep, he was practically forced to eat first. Maybe the food would put some life into him again; the long journey certainly had taken its toll…

He had first heard of the ninja villages, when he got into conversation with LanFan, while he had visited Ling in the capital a few months ago. She had told him that the Xingian, wasn't the only way of training ninjas and had pointed out that their special way of body control originated in the Elemental Countries, which partly bordered on Xing. According to her, those were trained even more vigorously and were also versed in some kind of attack-based-alchemy called _'jutsu'_.

Of course this little conversation had preyed on his mind ever since and he had tried to get hold of more information concerning those ninjas and their fighting style, whenever he traveled to another part of Xing. Ling had promoted May to some kind of mediator between the clans, wherefore the beansprout girl and Al spent quite a lot of time on the road – and he himself got the opportunity to see almost all of the Xingian provinces.

He couldn't really find anything worthwhile though, but the little he was able to dig up, was enough to pique his curiosity – which is why he ultimately landed in this little, obviously quite popular restaurant in Konohagakure. If he had learned _something_ from his many trips as a State Alchemist, it was to _always_ eat where it's most crowded with locals…

Even though Konoha hadn't been his first destination, he was already quite glad that he decided to travel to Fire Country next. The hot and dry climate of Wind Country hadn't been the best for his skin (a guy's allowed to worry about his appearance too – mind you!) and the Kage there hadn't been very forthcoming at all…

Hopefully the person in charge _here_ would be more interested in his offer.

When he heard the thud of something placed beside him, he lifted his head to find his salads ready to be devoured and promptly started to eat without bothering to thank the waitress beforehand. If the slightly irritated look on her face was any indication, she'd probably expected him to thank her first – but why the hell should he have thanked her for doing her job?!

With a pleased grin he realized that the man beside him had already vacated his seat, which meant he'd indeed escaped a conversation and probably wouldn't have to face one soon, as two stools to his right and one to his left were empty now and the nearest customers to both of his sides seemed to be preoccupied with other victims already.

He was just finishing the last bits of his third salad and about to proceed to his soups – which had been delivered in the meantime – when his brief bliss at being left alone deflagrated and a pink haired woman jumped on the stool beside him.

With a sullen sidelong glance he made plain, that he was not exactly amused about her company, before he resumed his meal in silence. She was wearing a dark red vest with a white circle printed on the back and the way her fingers were drumming against the countertop, was already annoying the hell out if him...

He was very aware that his reaction had obviously only attracted her attention and prompted her to shamelessly stare at him, but he tried his best to ignore it and concentrated on sipping his soups in the noisiest way possible.

If he behaved like a hillbilly she may be repulsed enough to allow him to eat his meal in peace...

"How does all of this even _fit_?!", she finally mused aloud, which in turn immediately caused one of his eyebrows to twitch, before he slowly turned his head and regarded her with the most intimidating narrow eyed glare he could muster.

"Do you mean to imply that I am _short_?", he asked in a dangerously calm voice and observed with some satisfaction how she immediately lifted her hands in a pacifying gesture. The frantic movements drew his attention to her hair for a moment, as it caused some of the strands to flutter in the swirled air. Was this actually her natural hair color?

"I merely meant that that's a lot of soup for one person, no?", she tried to calm the waves and flashed him a rather forced looking smile. He considered her words with some suspicion and only commented the situation with an irritated grunt, before he turned to resume his meal in silence. And to his surprise Pinky didn't dare to address him again – at least not until he had finished his soups and his meat and fish dishes arrived.

"You can't be _serious_?!", she exclaimed after the waitress had placed the six plates neatly in front of him – and although he wasn't sure if she had intended to say that out loud, he froze in his movement, with his chopsticks halfway to his eagerly anticipated chicken-noodle-whatever, and slowly turned his head in her direction – the second time that day! – trying to communicate _'none of your fucking business!'_ with only an irritated glare.

Pinky even had the audacity to _ignore_ him at first, more concerned about ordering her food – a measly salad. _One_! Ha – no wonder she was so damn bewildered by his eating habits if she at like a bird. By the way the waitress had addressed her with her first name, she was probably a regular as well and the girl hadn't been surprised at all by her lousy order, which allowed the conclusion that it hadn't been the first time she'd ordered only a salad.

But when Pinky finally realized his displeased stare and faced him once more, she merely voiced a flippant "What?!" and apparently tried to copy his expression, as he found himself glared at rather unpleasantly all of a sudden.

What the hell was that woman's problem now? _She_ had been the one who stuck her head in other people's businesses!

"My eating habits are _none of your business_ , woman!", he growled and forced himself to turn to his meal again, otherwise this infuriating example of the female specimen would probably have managed to devil him enough, to engage him in an argument and _that_ would only lead to him eating cold food.

And he preferred to consume his meals in a hot state, thank you very much!

"That can't be healthy...", he heard her mutter and darted her a brief sidelong glance before he concentrated on his food again. But he couldn't help and let a grumbled, "What would _you_ know", slip between two bites, which only earned him an angry hiss and an irritated "I'm a medic – I _do_ know!". If his senses hadn't been playing tricks on him, he had also felt her _Chi_ flare up for a moment, but as it was back to its usual, calm flicker again, he didn't pay it any mind.

As if learning to sense the _Dragon's Pulse_ hadn't been enough of a hassle, he also had to get a grip on distinguishing it from the energy emitted by living beings nearby, such as wild animals and humans.

During his studies, one of his tutors had pointed out that every lifeform had its own distinct form of this energy, called _'Chi'_. If you were versed in the specifics, you could predict the approach of someone before they entered your field of vision and if you knew the person and his or her distinct _Chi_ , you could even tell _who_ was approaching you.

"You're rather impolite for a foreigner", she suddenly stated out of the blue and for a moment he entertained the idea to snort the noodles that currently hung from his mouth in her face to show her _'impolite'_ – but he remained civil.

After all she had at least partly been right: he _was_ a foreigner and he shouldn't call negative attention to his person when it wasn't absolutely necessary.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?!", he demanded to know instead, as soon as he had swallowed his load of noodles and fixated her once more with narrowed eyes. He wouldn't be surprised if this chick was some xenophobic weirdo…

"Oh, just that I'd try to make friends if I'd travel to another country – not being a grouch and verbally attacking everyone who tries to have a civil conversation with me", she clarified in an irritated tone. Her pink eyebrows were slightly furrowed now, creating a little crinkle in between them, which drew his attention to her forehead, where he found a rhombus shaped mark.

Who the hell tattooed a diamond on their forehead?! But okay – this Elemental Country folks had a thing for such blatantly visible affiliation features. Hell, they also wore these strange headbands! Maybe this was some other kind of membership symbol or something…

"I merely try to choke every conversational attempt off as soon as it's initiated, as I'm not interested in smalltalk. I'm here to eat, not to indulge in the latest gossip", he made clear and waved his chopsticks indignantly in front of her face for a moment, before he returned them to his plate and shoveled the next load of noodles to his mouth.

"Fine. Be like that – but if you get stomachache don't come crawling along!"

"Wou'n' 'hink o' i'!", he assured her, without bothering to empty his mouth first and didn't even look up but kept his attention to his food, proceeding to the fourth plate – a fish'n rice affair.

Almost miraculously he managed to finish his meal without further interruption on Pinky's part and called for the waitress as soon as he had cleared his last dish, to prevent any possible additional discussion and strike off as soon as possible.

"Could you please give me the directions to the Kage's office?", he asked her politely, when he handed her the money and for some reason she screwed her face up for a moment, before she sighed as if in surrender.

What the hell was her problem? He had even given her a little tip – _and_ he'd said _'please'_!

"Well, you just need t-", she started to instruct him rather sourly, but a certain pink haired woman obviously couldn't keep her mouth shut after all. How had she managed to become a medic with this shitty attitude? Wherever she'd found a teacher who'd put up with her big mouth – the guy definitely deserved an award. He wouldn't want to be the poor fucker who had to drill whichever information into _that_ pighead...

"What's your business with the Hokage, sourpuss?"

"Most certainly none of _your_ business", he informed her with a bored countenance and wasn't even bothering to turn his head, opting to merely glare at her out of the corner of his eyes while he talked to her. Before she could have even _thought_ of retorting anything, he directed his attention back to the waitress once more and addressed her with a polite tone that was almost bordering on flirtatious.

He even flashed her a winning smile – just to make a point and scratch a bit on the nosy one's ego. All these years he had to suffer under Mustang should have at least _some_ benefit – and he had to admit it was fun being on the delivering end of such a smile for once…

"Excuse me – what were the directions again?"

The waitress actually blushed a bit and started to fiddle with one of her dark blue locks with busy fingers, while she stuttered the information he had asked for out, suddenly not at all in a tart tone anymore, but rather subdued and genuinely embarrassed.

He still didn't get, why some women made such a fuss just because of a little gesture like that, but if it helped speeding things up, he never minded to be a tad nicer than he usually would've been.

He had been quite surprised when he'd gotten such a reaction the first time he'd tried to imitate the bastard Colonel's behavior for his own purposes. A little wink here and a small smile there – maybe even a bashful, not so inconspicuous glance every now and then – and most women were eating out of the palm of his hand.

Some figured his little manipulation out, but the majority did whatever he had asked for anyway – I's never been too much after all, just little favors like copying something for him. But others – such as the waitress now – were caught totally off guard and those oftentimes ended up blushing and stuttering like mad.

Thanking every possible higher entity – as unlikely as their existence was in his personal opinion – that this wasn't even _close_ to how _he_ had usually reacted in Mustangs office (at least as far as he could recall) – as this would have been rather embarrassing – he gave the flustered woman his thanks and grabbed his suitcase to leave.

But just as he had turned to take the first step towards the exit he felt a hand aiming for his left shoulder and wheeled around to block the possible attack in the last moment. The position he found himself in, brought a smug smile to his lips and he cocked one of his eyebrows in a quizzical manner.

His fingers were wrapped around Pinky's wrist, while he lowered her arm a fraction but he wasn't intending to let her go so soon – not even when she tried to wiggle out of his grip. She scowled darkly at him and kept trying her luck until she huffed in defeat.

"Would you _please_ let go? I just wanted to ask for your name!", she hissed through gritted teeth and his smile grew even wider. Who was he to deny such a _politely_ formulated request?

"My name?", he inquired and obliged, her arm immediately dropping to her side as if the – maybe a _tiny_ bit excessive – pressure he had exerted on her wrist had been nothing.

"Yes, your name, _smartass_! I have to warn my colleagues at the hospital after all – and make sure nobody treats you, should you ever drop by with a stomach ache, just because you don't know when it's better to stop!"

He couldn't help but laugh at that refreshingly honest comment and tilted his head to take her whole appearance in for the first time. An apron was tied around her waist and a headband kept her chin long hair from hanging in her face – one of those forehead protectors that were characteristic for ninjas, which meant she had to be a medial ninja. As far as he was informed, those were some highly esteemed lot, which raised the question: why had he been able to grab her wrist, if she was such a tough one?

But at another thought… he had to admit that this probably was her hometown and she obviously wasn't on a mission – she wouldn't have expected to be caught off guard like that.

A small smile spread on his lips – a genuine one this time – when he realized that her expression turned rather impatient and she jerkily nodded her head, as if she wanted to say _'You gonna talk, or what?'_.

"Elric. Edward Elric. Be my guest and warn the others – I won't need their assistance anyway. I don't plan to get myself into trouble and you can be damn sure that no hospital will _ever_ get a glimpse of me just because of a fucking stomachache..."

Without another word, he turned to finally get out of this place, but stopped once more in his tracks, as an unexpected question caused him to pause, when he had almost reached the exit.

"So you're not gonna ask for _my_ name?!", he heard her ask, and though her voice had a mocking ring to it, he could have sworn he also detected a _tiny weeny bit_ disappointment.

"Why would I do that?", he countered seriously baffled and looked back over his shoulder to catch on to the situation. Why would he ask for her name, and why had the question been delivered in such a tone? Of all the feelings he'd have trusted to evoke in her, disappointment wasn't exactly the one he would have hoped for…

His bewilderment only grew, when he noticed how her eyebrows slowly approached to form a characteristic _'V'_ and one of her eyes began to twitch. It was a spectacle he had oftentimes had the dubious honor of witnessing from the front row – only moments before he got knocked out by a flying wrench – which is why he almost _instinctively_ tried to calm the waves; his life was at stake after all…

" _Sakura_ , isn't it? I already _know_ your name, why the hell would I _ask_ for something I'm already aware of?", he pointed out and when he could see how her expression lost the killing intent and changed to a rather confused and questioning one, he took his chance and scooted through the door with one fast step.

Not waisting any time, he immediately hurried in the direction the waitress had pointed out, making extra long strides to be faster and cover a further distance in less time. Couldn't hurt to bring more space between him and Pinky if she was still pissed at him; he just had the feeling she'd have a nasty right hook…

When he had already walked at this fast pace for a while and the annoying woman still hadn't shown up, he slowed down to a comfortable stroll again and tossed the suitcase over his shoulder.

It would've drawn too much attention to his person, if he'd kept running like that and the last thing he needed, were suspicious ninjas on his heels…

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 **AN:** hey guys - this is my first attempt at a crossover story and I hope you liked it so far. It'll be quite character centric and switch between Edward and Sakura every now and then.

There may be hints at a former infatuation with a certain Colonel in the next chapters, but to keep the questions at bay: nothing really happened, Mustang hasn't got a clue _and_ Ed is into both genders. Like already mentioned this story takes place after the mangas, so Ed's already tried to have a relationship with Winry, but that obviously didn't work out as they'd hoped (and not because of his crush on Mustang!) - but details will be explained in the later chapters ;)

I hope some of you will leave me a review - I really appreciate constructive criticism :) even if this is just a hobby for me, I'd like to improve my skills, so don't hold back and by all means tell me if something is wrong or you'd phrase something differently ;)

Thanks for reading in any case! Till the next chapter  
~ Orange


	2. How To Deal With A Hokage

_..._

 _"I want to be with those who know secret things or else alone."  
_ _― **Rainer Maria Rilke**_

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Lesson 2: How to deal with a Hokage

Slowly approaching the _'Hokage Rock',_ as the waitress had called the huge wall on the far side of the village, he let his gaze roam over its surface. According to the stories he had picked up on his way to Konoha, the faces carved into it, represented the former and present Hokage – and if he interpreted it right, the guy he'd have to deal with had probably some serious complexes – or a rather nasty scar to hide; or both.

When he neared the architectural complex with the big _'fire'_ sign on the front of the main building – the waitress had referred to it as _'Academy'_ – he noted that there was definitely a higher number of ninjas around; some wearing these outrageously ugly green vests, some only with their headband tied around the one or other extremity (though most of them _did_ wear it around their forehead, as it had been intended) – hell, some of the guys even wore _masks_ , how freaky was that?!

When he entered the round main building, he could feel a few pairs of piercing eyes lingering on his person, but he tried to ignore them as best as he could and strolled into the Academy with all the ease he could manage to put on display. As the waitress had told him the Hokage office would be on the top floor, he immediately headed towards the stairs and climbed them in a lazy stroll.

Though there were a few people hanging around, nobody stopped him or asked for his business here. He would have thought it'd be more of a problem to get close to the village leader, but apparently those ninjas didn't think much of security issues...

He put an effort into keeping his appearance cool and unconcerned, while he climbed the stairs casually, as it was never a good idea to show even the slightest hint of doubt in your own abilities or plans if you were in unfamiliar territory (not exactly recommended in familiar territory either, by the way). And – as the appointment with Suna's Kage had shown: even if you managed to keep your face straight, it didn't mean that you had the deal in the bag…

All he could do now, was trying to play his cards right and maybe exaggerate a bit whenever it was necessary. But that was a skill he had mastered a long time ago, while he was known as the _'_ _Fullmetal Alchemist_ _'_ and had to write annoying reports to an even more annoying Colonel – so he shouldn't have to worry about that…much…

When he reached the top story, he immediately found himself standing in front of a desk, as only a tiny part of the floor was visible to him – the rest was hidden behind the door to his left, which probably lead to the Hokage office. After politely clearing his throat to attract the secretary's attention, he waited patiently until she had finished whatever she'd been working on and finally looked up to him.

Her dark eyes, hidden behind rectangular spectacles, widened a fraction, when she realized there was a stranger standing in front of her – he supposed not many of those had the guts to simply waltz into this place without further notice. This was the exact moment he decided to draw his most charming smile to his lips – knowing she could very well shoot his plans down if she so pleased – and nodded politely, while he noted with relief how her tense shoulders sagged a little.

"Good evening ma'am. My name is Edward Elric and I'd like to arrange an appointment with the Hokage – I have an offer to make", he informed her calmly, all the while capturing her gaze with his own, like he had seen Mustang doing it so many times, whenever he'd been staying for more than half a day in Central.

"Oh – go on in then!", she told him with an enthusiastic smile and gestured to the door beside her desk. "He's usually quite bored around this time anyway. If he's busy talking to you, he may refrain from giving me pointless tasks, just because he enjoys seeing me running around...", she grumbled rather irritably and kept muttering more to herself than to him, while she turned to her work once more, "...as if I wouldn't notice how he's glaring at my ass all the time..."

Well, that would explain why such a young woman would be charged with such an important task as scheduling the Hokage's everyday business…

Casting a glance at the already preoccupied secretary, he followed her suggestion and headed for the door. After he had taken a last calming breath, he knocked two times and waited until a muffled "come in" sounded from the other side.

And the first thought that crossed his mind when he entered the room was: _'what a waste of space'_. And honestly – how many books could have fit in this premise? Granted, the lack of corners was indeed a challenge – but nothing that couldn't be handled with a bit of alchemy!

There was a single pot plant placed in front of one of the broad windows on one side of the room, as if someone had tried – _in vain_ – to bring a bit more _life_ to this place. But all this pathetic sight managed to trigger, was sympathy for the poor little tree and the irrational urge to relocate it to a livelier spot.

If a plant could've looked lonely, this one would've been a prime example…

Other than the tree, there was only a huge desk occupying the room, and overflowing with unread reports as it was, the head of this village probably was at least as versed in procrastinating, as Mustang had been… But if the man behind it, slouching in the office chair as if he were at home – which he probably _was_ in a way, at least if there were more parallels to a certain Colonel, than just his lack of working morale – was indeed the _Hokage_ , he had the feeling this was going to be his lucky day.

They obviously had some common ground after all. Someone who delighted in reading had to be a reasonable person and no rational thinking individual would be able to turn his offer down easily, right?!

He was just about to open his mouth and recite his prefabricated speech, when another voice beat him to it, rendering him wordless. The tone didn't really fit to the lazy appearance of the Hokage, but what was more: the man's face hadn't even _twitched_ an inch, and he should at least have seen his jaw moving! So he'd have to deal with a _ventriloquizing_ village leader – how strange was _that_? But maybe he had indeed some really bad injury to hide below that mask…

"What's your business with Kakashi, whelp?"

 _And_ he had to admit he wasn't exactly _pleased_ by the term he had been addressed with; he could already feel how his eyebrows furrowed involuntarily in irritation. This man hadn't even had the audacity to _look at him_ so far, how could he have the nerve to call him like _that_? Not that he wasn't used to such dog-terms – he'd been a _'dog of the military'_ for several years after al – but still… it just wasn't _nice_!

Aside from that, he'd been referring to himself in third person, right? How much of a god-complex did this man possess?!

"What's that shitty greeting been for?", he heard himself growl out between gritted teeth, before he could have stopped himself and dropped his suitcase on the floor with a loud thud. He had to take a few calming breaths to keep his temper under control, while he balled his hands to fists to relieve himself at least of _some_ of the built up aggression.

Sighing inwardly, he contemplated the likelihood of fate's existence, as everything seemed to be indicative of it's presence. He'd really already endured his fair share of bad luck for more than just _this_ lifetime. Being forced to deal with such a type of egomaniac in a superior position – the _second_ time already! – was really the worst joke since Mustang burning him out of his dorm room for _forgetting_ to submit his report on time…

At least there was no danger of him getting a crush on _this_ guy – _he_ was definitely a tad _too_ old, if his hair color was anything to go by...

With a lopsided grin he realized that his little tantrum had obviously had a positive side effect, as the silver haired man finally closed the little book he'd been reading in and tucked it away. Apparently he deemed him worth his attention now, who'd have thought that? If he'd known that he just needed to unleash his temper to get his attention, his entrance could have been more like the one he usually showed back in East or Central Headquarters!

Now that the man was sitting a bit straighter and actually looking at him, Edward had to admit, that he didn't seem old at all. He had keen almost black eyes that observed him at least as accurately as his own examined the Hokage. There was a scar running from his forehead to his cheek, where it disappeared below that already annoying mask. The man's posture was still rather lazy, but leant back against the chair he was sitting in, rather than slumped, and only when Ed's gaze followed one of his arms to his hand, he realized that a pocket sized dog was sitting in the man's lap.

This whole situation was getting weirder by the minute…

"That's been a valid question, brat!", the voice almost _barked_ at him and to his horror he had to admit that it really seemed as if it had indeed been the _dog_ , who'd been talking all along…

"What the-", he muttered bewildered, but was cut off by an irritated, "What?! Never seen a Ninken?!" and decided to just stare at the animal in silent disbelieve. He had obviously managed to offend it somehow and as it probably was the Hokage's lap dog, this was nothing to be taken lightly – at least not as long as the dog was able to communicate his resentment; Ed had a goal after all…

"Well, Pakkun, you could have been a tad nicer, ne?"

Oh well – the man _could_ speak, and with his _mouth_ and a better fitting voice after all! Miracles _did_ happen then…

Edward sighed in relief and forced himself to relax a little, rolling his shoulders a few times to ease his tense muscles. It would also make him look rather casual and unconcerned, if he made such a move without any effort of concealing it – just what he wanted the man to think.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted you, but your secretary told me to just try my luck", he addressed the Hokage after he had cleared his throat, scrapping his prepared speech, "I have an _offer_ to make."

If his ears weren't deceiving him, he heard the pug mutter something like "why couldn't he have told me that from the start?!", but he refrained from acknowledging that with a retort. Probably better not to irritate the dog even further. He wasn't exactly on friendly terms with him so far, no need to get on his shitlist…

"And that would be?", the man behind the desk inquired now, observing him with intelligent eyes that wouldn't really match his bored pose, and tilted his head to the side. Though they had only just met for the first time, Edward could already tell that he'd never become a fan of this irritating mask covering the lower half of the Hokage's face. The dark fabric wouldn't even allow him to detect shadows, let alone any real outlines and made it impossibly hard to judge the man's mood.

"Did you ever hear about _Alchemy_?", he asked in a challenging tone and cocked a questioning eyebrow at the village leader, while he crossed his arms over the chest in a confident posture. As he had already traveled through Wind, River and a part of Fire Country, he was well aware of the lack of alchemic knowledge in these regions. He just hoped the Hokage hadn't been one of the few, who'd actually traveled far enough to not only _witness_ , but also _learn_ it…

"In passing – but the stories sounded more like myths and fairy tales", the Hokage admitted with a shrug and gave the pug a nudge, which prompted it to begrudgingly jump off his lap. But the dog didn't aim for the floor, but went for the table instead, making himself comfortable beside a stack of papers, while he kept a close eye on Edward.

In the meantime, the Hokage'd placed his elbows on the desk without any hurry and rested his chin in his palms, representing the epitome of a bored student and not at all what one would have expected a Kage look like.

"What about it?", the silver haired man asked in a bored tone, as if he couldn't have cared less, but his piercing glare told a totally different story, and Edward had to bite his tongue before a sassy remark could have rolled from his lips.

He had always rather been a man of action and he should better stick to his forte now…

Without another explanation he put his hands together in the familiar stance and formed a circle within his own body. Drawing the necessary arrays in his mind, he concentrated on the _Dragon's Pulse,_ what he wanted it to do and how he needed it to act, before he slammed his palms down on the floor. The parquet bubbled up immediately, crumbling and shifting towards the center, where his hands were connected with the wood, and slowly formed a bookshelf, as if it would be a piece of cake.

And in a way it was _indeed_ rather easy for Edward, even if he hadn't been able to perform Alchemy for years, before he managed to adapt the Xingian stile and make it his own. He had been pleasantly surprised, when he realized that he was still able to perform without the need of drawing an actual circle. Of course he had hoped it would work this way, as he _knew_ he still had the know how – it was like walking or breathing for him; something you didn't just forget.

The Gate hadn't taken his _knowledge_ , only his _means_ to access the energy he needed for his transmutations – until his journey took him to Xing of course.

When he realized he could do the same with the Dragon's Pulse, even using the same arrays in his mind – only minutely altered to be receptive for this other kind of energy – it had been one _incredibly_ happy day for him.

Of course he was more than glad to have Al back, and he would have given his ability to perform Alchemy any day, if he'd been faced with the same situation again. But he had to admit, that it felt fucking _good_ to _do_ it again, to _feel_ the pulse, when he activated the array and _watch_ how the forces formed matter according to _his_ will…

When he lifted his gaze again, to check how the Hokage had taken the performance in, he noted with glee, that he had managed to wipe that annoyingly bored expression off his face. The man was sitting upright in his chair again and had his eyebrows slightly furrowed, which was probably as close to _'amazed'_ as it could get.

"With the right technique matter can be changed – I used the wood of the parquet to build a shelf, but it is also possible to remodel molecules, not just rearrange them", Edward explained smugly, kicking his right foot in a casual manner against the base of said shelf, before he got to the point, "I'd be willing to teach you, or one of your ninjas what I know – _if_ one of your people shows me what this _'jutsu'_ -stuff is about!"

"Are you able to reverse this as well?", the Hokage asked with a cocked eyebrow, obviously disregarding Ed's question for now and shifted his elbows on the desk again to lean his cheek in one of his palms. He had to admit that not even the scar over the man's left eye took any of his attractiveness. Hell – if anything it even enhanced it and made him look more mysterious; the damn mask was also adding to it…

But what the hell was he thinking anyway – half the guy's face was hidden and he deemed him attractive? That was a new low – and after the bastard Colonel he had thought it couldn't get any worse…

"Of course", he scoffed in mock offense and crossed his arms confidently over the chest to keep a tough appearance. It wouldn't do if he started drooling now…

"Humor me", the man requested in a light tone and if the crinkles around his closed eyes were any indication, he probably smiled at him – supposedly with one of those annoyingly manipulative smiles Mustang used to show off. For once he was glad that the man in front of him preferred to wear a mask…

Clapping his hands again, he concentrated on the energies once more and thought of what he wanted them to do and how he wanted them to form the wood, before he placed his palms on the shelf. He watched it melt into the floor, simultaneously reforming the layer of planks it once had been, until nothing of it was left and his fingers touched the seemingly unchanged parquet.

He was just resuming a standing position, when the door suddenly burst open and a blond woman with a rather generous bust size stormed in. Her hair was gathered in pigtails, which flew behind her, as she hurried to the desk without sparing a glance at Edward.

"Get her a long-time mission somewhere abroad or something – she's driving me _nuts_!", she demanded and banged one of her fists on the table to emphasize her statement. The pug flinched a little, but obviously didn't dare to say anything.

She was probably someone special, if she was allowed to storm in like that without any reprimands – maybe she was his wife or girlfriend? But if he gave it another thought – hadn't _he_ been storming into Mustangs office like that as well? Probably not necessarily special then…

"If you could tell me who you're talking about, this would _really_ facilitate the process", the Hokage drawled and tilted his head, while he regarded the woman with a bored expression and a cocked eyebrow.

"Don't play dump Kakashi! You know exactly who I'm speaking of – I've come here because of her one too many times already-"

"Oh, you agree?!", he interrupted with feigned surprise, obviously not worried at all about the already nearly boiling female in front of him, and gestured toward Ed, "Then it's probably best if you leave, I'm negotiating here..."

The woman turned her head to take a glance over her shoulder, obviously realizing only now, that she wasn't the only one who had important matters to discuss with the man, and huffed with slightly furrowed brows (as if _he_ would have been responsible for whatever mess she was here for!), before she turned her attention to the Hokage again.

"I won't leave before you've fixed this! She's bored and obviously unhappy – she's been your student as well once! _Do_ something about it, for heavens sake!"

He couldn't see the man's reaction any more, as the blonde blocked his view with her back, but he could clearly hear him sigh in defeat.

"I'll think about something..."

"You've told me that before! That's not _enough_!", she exclaimed and boxed down on the table again, but this time she had obviously lost her temper, as he heard a distinct crack before the desk suddenly collapsed. The paper stacks that had been piled on it were littered all around it on the floor now, causing a worried line to emerge between the Hokage's eyebrows. "That's what you get for your laziness!"

The pug was sitting startled in the middle of the mess, glancing around as if confused before he shrugged (could a dog shrug?) and made himself comfortable where he was.

The Hokage however, slumped down in his chair and put two fingers to his forehead, while he surveyed the damage with weary eyes. By the way he rubbed his fingers against his skin he was probably frustrated, but tried to contain his composure. He was just in the middle of a heavy sigh, when he suddenly sat up again, as if he'd been struck by lightning, and pointed a finger at Ed with a confident gleam in his eyes.

This couldn't end well…

"You wouldn't mind to fix that, would you?", he asked in a singsong voice and Edward swore if the man would dare to give him one of these smug looks the bastard Colonel had liked to use, he'd tell him about a few things he wouldn't mind to do – Hokage or not...

"I'm not working for _nothing_ – what about our deal?", he inquired instead and took a few steps toward the mess. The woman kept a close eye on him, glaring suspiciously, but her stance told him that she wasn't actually worried he could pose a threat.

Now that he had a closer look at her, he could see two rather pretty ember colored eyes and a quite familiar mark on her forehead. He had the nagging feeling he'd seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't put his finger on it…

As he was used to being underestimated, he didn't take offense of her behavior. Actually he had learned how handy it could be, if his enemies weren't taking him seriously so he was facing such situations rather with a grin now, than his former temper tantrums. The last few years he had not only physically grown after all...

"The deal...", the Hokage repeated as if he'd be deep in thought and the fingers scratching his masked chin in the universal pose for _'intensely contemplating,_ _or at least trying to look like it'_ were only confirming it. The woman's eyebrows twitched dangerously before they furrowed, as if she were about to call bullshit any moment. But just when she wanted to open her mouth, the Hokage raised a hand and choked her rant off before it could have started.

"You're not from around here?", he addressed Edward, and though his voice indicated that it was meant as a question, the man's piercing glance told him that he was aware of the answer already and just wanted more background information about him without actually asking for any.

"Yeah. I'm from Amestris. Military state in the west."

"Bordering on Aerugo and Xing – I see…", the Hokage replied in a thoughtful tone and tilted his head in a questioning manner. "How come you're so far from home?"

"I like traveling."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Problem with that?"

"No – actually I'll admit that an Alchemist could come in quite handy", he stated and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I suppose it wouldn't be much trouble for you to rebuild houses as well, if they'd been damaged?"

"No problem at all", he told him in a bored tone and shrugged, "Will take some time to train someone until they'll be able to do it as easily as myself, but shouldn't be a problem."

"Then I know the perfect ninja to assign you to!", the man told him in a serious voice, while his eyes were darting back and forth between Edward and the blonde woman, "– she's one of the best in our village-"

"If we're thinking of the same person, it should be _'one of the best – period'_!", the woman butted in with a reproachful expression on her face that caused the Hokage to sigh. The man was obviously irritated, but for some reason he didn't reprimand her – at least not right away.

"– she's one of the best, period", he repeated like a parrot, but gave the woman a sour glare as if he dared her to interrupt him again, "And you'll find she's rather literate, so she can give you a lot of background information as well. She's also a fast learner – you shouldn't have too much trouble teaching her what you know."

"Fine with me", Ed stated with a shrug when the Hokage had paused for a while, obviously waiting for his response. "When do we start?", he asked, trying not to show how pleased he was with this outcome and how keen he was to learn this new – probably alchemy based – style of fighting. He was pretty sure he would be able to implement those tricks in everyday life as well.

"You'll be meeting her at 0800 sharp at training ground-", he started, but disappeared behind the remains of his desk then, to briefly shift through the mess of papers on the floor until the pug slid a sheet in his direction, which the Hokage promptly grabbed and studied, before he continued from his spot, "five. Training ground five – Tsunade will show you the map on your way out. The Kunoichi will also have you sign a few documents before you'll start your first lesson tomorrow. I can't have you spill our village's secrets to anyone… – Could you _please_ fix my desk now, I really should get some work done, I'm already behind schedule..."

"I wonder who's to blame for that", Edward muttered under his breath, but by the lopsided grin suddenly emerging on the blonde woman's face, his voice probably hadn't been low enough. Ignoring her amused expression, he clapped his hands and melded the desk back to one piece as if it never had been broken.

"What about this mess?", the silver haired man demanded and gestured suggestively to the floor. He had another thing coming if he honestly believed he'd clear that up for him…

"What about it – you pick it up", Edward only pointed out the obvious and added in a sharper tone, "I'm not your maid!", before he turned on his heels and grabbed his suitcase.

"Thanks for your cooperation – you won't regret it!", he quickly shouted back over his shoulder when he realized he should probably thank the man before he left. He hadn't even been forced to talk too much and persuade him; his Alchemy had fortunately spoken for itself and by the look of it, it had also left quite the impression if he dared to say so.

He was just about to open the door, when he was stopped by a question he was already hearing for the second time this day.

"What's your name anyway?"

Well – maybe it had been phrased a bit differently, but the gist was the same…

"Edward Elric – don't forget it!", he told him and couldn't help but grin, when he took a last glance over his shoulder. He could only see the man's eyes – thanks to that damn mask – but he seemed rather amused, while he settled in his seat again. The blonde beside him though, was rather surprised, if her lifted eyebrows were any indication.

Could it be that the stories about him and his deeds as the Fullmetal Alchemist had traveled that far? He only shook his head absentmindedly and shrugged that thought off, before he opened the door, to finally leave the room.

"You look rather pleased with yourself – he agreed to whatever you proposed, I take it?"

The secretary's head had immediately turned in his direction when she heard the door click shut and a knowing smile played around her lips. "I told you it's the best time to get things done if you need something from him", she reminded him with a wink before she turned to her papers again.

"Yeah, thanks a lot – probably would have cost me a lot of time and nerves otherwise", he admitted with a chuckle and swung the suitcase over his shoulder. "See you around I guess", he told her with a small smile and started to head down the stairs, but stopped in his tracks to take a startled look back, when he heard the office door bang shut behind him.

"Wait, brat – I need to show you the map, remember?", the blonde from earlier told him with an irritated voice, but her expression fortunately didn't seem that angry. If anything she looked rather amused when she approached him.

"You put on quite a show in there", she admitted with a small smile, "Care to explain what you did there – and what your deal with Kakashi involved exactly?"

"I'm sorry, but the less people know, the better", he only mumbled while he fell in step beside her and resumed his stroll down the stairs. He knew this sounded rather rude and ominous, but he wouldn't be thrilled if he'd have to deal with nosy spectators during the training sessions with this ninja lady he was assigned to…

"If it's not a classified mission, I'll probably know about it by tomorrow morning anyway", she told him in an unconcerned voice and shrugged, while they proceeded down the stairs.

"The Hokage's a newsmonger then?", he inquired in a surprised tone and cocked an eyebrow while he regarded the blonde with a doubtful glance. She was probably just trying to trick him into talking…

Her loud laughter rang through the entrance hall when they reached the bottom of the stairs, and she shook her head as if his conclusion couldn't have been farther from the truth. It was not like he would have believed that anyway, no need to be so amused about it…

"No, but the Kunoichi you're assigned to, likes to complain – and trust me: she's going to do just that!", the woman grumbled with an annoyed expression on her face and tugged on his coat sleeve, when he wanted to head towards the exit. "The map's this way, kiddo."

Not exactly happy about the prospect of an annoyed tutor, he followed her silently, while he mulled over her statement. He wasn't overly thrilled that she'd called him _'kiddo'_ as well, as she was obviously not too much older than him (ten years probably) and he was twenty-three by now – in his opinion really no _'kiddo'_ anymore…

When they came to a halt, they stood in front of a huge map, which was painted on the wall and showed all the important sights in little pictograms as well as written words.

The training ground he'd have to find the next day, was apparently located on the outskirts of the village right between two other training grounds and although he'd spotted it quite easily, the woman – _Tsunade_ , if he remembered correctly – put her finger on the map to point it out for him.

"Would you care to explain why she's going to complain about the assignment?", he asked in a softer voice than he'd intended, when he couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. This woman obviously knew whoever he'd have to deal with for the next _at least_ two or three months. If she thought there'd be trouble, he had to know why – and in the best case: how to prevent it…

"Oh – because she already _did_ ", the blonde chuckled and looked at him with a lopsided grin and a calculating glance. Now that they were so close, he realized that they actually had almost the same hight, but that was certainly only because she wore high heels…

"What do you mean?", he asked in confusion, "She can't already know about this deal – I just clinched it!"

"It's probably not the deal itself, she's going to complain about", she told him with an almost pitying look. But as if she'd realized that she showed more compassion than she'd intended to, her expression quickly changed to a devious smirk and she wiggled her finger in front of his face like a scolding mother would. "But she won't be thrilled to hear, that she's supposed to work with _you_ …"

She'd stabbed the offending finger in his chest at her last word, to emphasize her statement (as if that had been necessary) and only chuckled when he rubbed the stinging spot. She really could've been a _tad_ softer…

"Oh, if my manners are your concern – I can be rather charming if I want to, you know...", he muttered grumpily but had to admit that he was relieved that this was obviously only about his lack of social etiquette.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure you _can_ be", she grinned again and winked at him, as if she wanted to imply he'd be a player (which he was not!), "The problem's just: you've already made quite the impression and I dare say you're gonna have a tough time revoking that..."

He was at a total loss at first and his expression probably showed as much, because all Tsunade did was arching an eyebrow as if she wanted to say _'use your savvy, kid!'_. But he had only been mere hours in this village! Not even _he_ could possibly have managed to-

And then the puzzle pieces fell in place and showed a picture he wouldn't have thought, he'd see again so soon, much less, would matter so much…

A rather pink picture.

His eyes widened as realization hit him like a tidal wave and he even caught himself gasping in horror, before he cleared his throat to cover up this lapse.

"Well… That ninja lady I'm assigned to...", he started hesitantly and couldn't help but feel a slightly pained expression washing over his face, "What's her name?"

The expectant expression on the woman's face changed to a satisfied one and a huge grin spread on her rose colored lips. She put her hands on her hips in a reproachful gesture and tilted her head. "If the expression on your face is anything to go by, you already know", she concluded in a singsong voice, "But to clear even your last remaining doubts: you'll be working with Haruno Sakura. Good luck with that, kiddo – I'm out of here now."

She turned on her heels and waved a hand in goodbye without looking back at him, before she headed across the entrance hall towards the exit.

"Hey wait a moment!", he shouted and ran after her, when she only slowed down a bit. "Can you tell me where to find the cheapest accommodation around here?", he asked when he reached her side again and fell in step beside her once more. She seemed to contemplate his question, while he opened the door for her and she stopped as soon as they had both walked through it.

"I supposed that would be the new flats Yamato built after the attack of Pain", she told him, but didn't seem to be too certain about it, "They're this way, but I can accompany you a few streets if you want."

"The hospital's this way too?"

Her expression seemed rather confused, as she probably couldn't follow his train of thoughts. "You know Sakura – and you already knew about me when you stormed into the office", he pointed out to explain his previous question, "So you must be one of her co-workers at the hospital, right?"

"I'm a... _colleague_ , yes – but I'm not headed to the hospital. My flat's this way too. I've some free time as well, you know", she told him with a suggestive smirk and a sidelong glance, before she started to stride into the direction she'd pointed to before, "You coming, kiddo?"

"I don't appreciate being called a kid, you know?!", he grumbled while he followed her and threw his suitcase casually over his shoulder. When he reached her side, Tsunade turned to head west, but before he followed her, he got a last glimpse of the _'Hokage Rock'_ and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

There was a head carved into the stone that suspiciously resembled the blond who was currently showing him around. The same hairstyle, the same facial features – even this strange mark on the figures forehead was the same!

"Hey, _Tsunade_ , right?", he asked when he had caught up with her once more and she just nodded with a smirk, "You don't happen to be related to the former Hokage?"

Her eyebrows furrowed as if the question annoyed her to no end and she only huffed, while her next few steps became a bit heavier, resembling stomps rather than the former, light stride. "Tell me _that_ resembles me and you can go and look for your flat alone!", she spat and shot him a death glare.

"Of course not...", he tried to calm her down, though it was rather obvious, that he was of another opinion in reality – he wouldn't have asked in the first place otherwise, would he? "There's just that mark on the forehead...", he tried to excuse and still return to his former question.

"Ah – that… This is just jutsu, none of your concern kid", she told him with a shrug and to his relief she seemed to have calmed down again. He was just thinking of a way to get back to his question without implying that there was any similarity to the former Hokage's head on the stonewall, when the matter solved itself. "I'm related to the first two – but I _am_ the former Hokage."

" _What?!_ "

As if they had a mind on their own, his legs suddenly refused to take another step and he was effectively pinned to the spot, eyeing the woman beside him with a flabbergasted look. "You're much too young to be a retired Kage!", he stated with a doubtful voice and huffed.

"Ooooh, _thanks_ kid!", she replied with a grin and turned to take the few steps back, she had proceeded without him. The blonde even had the audacity to _ruffle his hair,_ when she stopped in front of him! "But I'm much older than I look."

"Stop calling me a _kid_!", he growled unamused and pushed her hand away with a frown, "And stop feeding me cooked up stories – you can't be a day older than 35!"

Tsunade just looked at him with wide eyes, blinking a few times before she burst into laughter. "Stop _flattering_ me!", she demanded between bouts of chuckles, before she turned to resume their walk towards her home and his soon-to-be accommodation for the next few months. "I'm _decades_ older than that – that's all you need to know for now. Now come on, we don't have all day – _Edward_!"

* * *

 **AN:** hey guys - I hope you liked that chapter and you can slowly begin to see where this will be heading ;) the next chapter will probably be out of Sakuras POV btw :)

Sorry for updating and deleting it again - I decided to co-post this in the Fullmetal section as well and wanted to let the first chapter sink in before I updated the second. As I intend to update the chapters simultaniously, I couldn't very well leave the 2nd chapter on as it was. But this way I was able to add a few little details - thanks to **StarKiss666** for pointing the part with Pakkun and the desk out (I totally missed that ^^')...

a big thanks to **imaginesakura, Days358-2, mun3litKnight** and **StarKiss666** for their reviews - it's always motivating to get feedback ^^

I hope some of you will leave a few words for me ;)

Thanks for reading!

~ Orange


	3. How To Shift One's Opinion

_..._

 _"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science."  
― **Albert Einstein** _

* * *

_Lesson 3: How to shift (if not change) one's opinion_

"Unpunctual idiot!", she hissed, while she kicked another stone against the tree beside her. It had been at least the seventh time she'd done that, and the bark already showed how much anger she'd put into it.

"I understand that you're angry – that brat should be happy that you'll put up with him at all", Pakkun grumbled beside her and nudged her shin as if to pacify her, which – she had to admit grudgingly – worked. "But that tree never did you any harm, kid. Better keep that aggression for the person it's actually directed at, no?"

She sighed heavily and slumped to the ground beside the pug, leaning her back against the tree she'd taken her anger out on. "He's ten minutes late already", she noted in a grim tone, when she took another glance at the pocket watch she'd briefly pulled out of her hip pouch.

It hadn't been much of a surprise, when Kakashi called for her the previous evening. She had expected as much, as Tsunade had tried to bribe him into sending her on a long-time mission quite a few times already and she'd stormed off like she usually did, when she went to the Hokage to get all worked up about her…

Sakura had no idea why her former shishou thought it was necessary to send her away, as she had become a rather valuable medic at the hospital and actually represented the head of the research department – it wasn't as if she wouldn't be busy enough as it was!

They had been able to get their hands on some of Orochimaru's notes and as much as she despised the rogue-nin, she had to admit that he was brilliant. Her research team had been able to apply this new knowledge, to regenerate human cells with the support of the remnants of Tsetsu's special muscle tissue to whole limbs. For obvious reasons her first and foremost goal was to create arms and after a few months of adjusting the composition of the required cells and growth media, they reached a breakthrough and really grew an actual limb from scratch!

It took another few months however, to wholly understand the process and which alteration affected which manifestation. But when she had not only the basics, but most of the finer points figured out, she started to regrow two very special arms with Tsetsu's cells and particular human cells each: one with Naruto's and one with Sasuke's.

Though she had been the main surgeon of more than 200 operations by then, it was one of the harder things she had to do in her life, when the day to reattach the limbs finally came and she was in charge of reopening Sasuke's already healed shoulder stump. She had been more than just glad, when Tsunade offered to attach Naruto's arm simultaneously, under the pretense that it'd probably end in another fight if one of them had his arm back before the other. But Sakura knew that her Shishou merely wanted to take some of the responsibility off her shoulders – and she was grateful for her support.

Even if it had been a relatively easy operation – as she merely needed to connect the major blood vessels and nerve endings, everything else would be done by Tsetsu's cells on their own – it still bore some risks and she honestly wasn't sure if she'd been able to perform Naruto's operation as well, as she was drained by the time Sasuke's arm was finally back where it belonged.

Of course the arms weren't the same as their real arms had been – neither were they as sensitive, nor did they look exactly like their respective counterpart. Part of them was made of plant tissue after all, so there was some visible evidence of that unavoidable. Sakura had tried to reduce such traits in her prior experiments, but they had only been successful to a certain extend.

The arms didn't have such a rough and wrinkled surface as Obi's face had shown, but their color wasn't really resembling the color of skin, and there were a few scattered crinkles that shouldn't have been there.

But fortunately neither of her two former teammates seemed to mind, and after only a month of rehabilitation they resumed their training regime, as if nothing had happened and they hadn't spent the previous fourteen months without one of their arms.

It took only another month before Sasuke was gone again.

Though Kakashi had done everything in his power to clear the Uchiha's name (which wasn't too little, as he was their Hokage now after all) and give him a reason to stay, he had decided to take off to wherever his damn legs carried him…

He hadn't even taken the time to say goodbye – she'd had to hear about his departure from _Naruto_! Sakura had thought they'd have a chance to work things out between them, now that he'd accomplished his goal of killing his brother and would proceed to his other. She had thought, now that he was back to Konoha, he'd be interested in rebuilding his clan – maybe even with _her_ – but that had obviously been wishful thinking…

She had to admit, that she may have been a _bit_ annoyed ever since and _maybe_ she was also a bit oversensitive when it came to the work some of her colleagues performed, which _may_ have caused her to nag Tsunade about their working ethics one too many times – but that still didn't give her former shishou the right to demand a mission for her elsewhere!

So far Kakashi had only warned her, and advised her to better relieve some of her anger on the training field, or wherever else she wanted – just not at the hospital or anywhere near the former Hokage. He had even offered to spar with her, which had been a novelty, since she couldn't remember when or _if_ he had _ever_ taken the time to train with _her_ – and her _alone_. She had been positively surprised when he showed up _on time_ at the appointed training ground the next morning and even more so, when he suggested to meet again the next day.

It had become some sort of routine for them ever since: meeting early in the morning, sparring without using chakra until they both where pleasantly relieved of the tension the prior day had brought along – and afterwards they usually ended up eating breakfast in one of the tea houses near the training ground, before they parted ways to pursue their respective duties.

She had to admit that she enjoyed those early hours with Kakashi immensely, maybe even more than she should – as she had caught herself thinking about him as an attractive man, rather than simply a sparring partner and former sensei, more and more often lately. The fact that they had close bodily contact – which was inevitable during their training fights – didn't exactly help her case…

But she suspected that he enjoyed their sparring meetings just as much, otherwise he'd probably already sent her on a long-time mission months ago. She knew first hand how persistent Tsunade could be – and how _annoying_ – if she wanted something…

Still, she was surprised when the Hokage told her about her new appointment. It would be a long-time mission – just like her former shishou had demanded time and again – but as long as her expertise wouldn't be needed for another assignment, this one would remain within the boundaries of Konoha. She'd almost suspected this would mean he'd give her another research to conduct, or something like that – but nothing could have prepared her for the mission he _really_ had in mind.

When he'd told her about the man who'd offered him this deal – when he revealed the _name_ of said man – her first reaction was to decline. There was _no_ way she'd try to teach this self-centered idiot anything, let alone allow _him_ to teach _her_ something!

But of course Kakashi had sweet-talked her – pointing out that he'd find nobody else who'd be able to learn a new technique as fast and accurate as she does (now that he'd lost his Sharingan), reminding her what an exceptional student she had been at the academy and that she wasn't only versed in the basics of chakra control and flow, she also knew the specifics to a T. He'd be in a _lot of trouble_ and it would cause him an _unnecessary_ _amount_ _of work_ if he'd have to find another one for this assignment – he might even have to _cancel_ some of their _morning spars_ …

And _of course_ she had accepted the mission in the end – which had lead to the situation she currently found herself in…

It was thirteen minutes past eight, when she finally spotted a silhouette trotting their way – and the person didn't seem to be in a hurry. At all.

Sakura had already been cursing that smug idiot to hell and back, incited by Pakkun – who helpfully supplied the one or other foul name whenever she seemed to run out of steam – when his face came into view and she could tell for _certain_ , that it was indeed the jerk she had been waiting for, who was finally coming their way. Not that his strange chakra hadn't given him away already anyway…

She could clearly see that he was carrying something, but at first she thought it'd be a bag with whatever he'd deemed necessary for his training with her. Only when he was just a few steps away, she realized that he held a carton – which content suspiciously looked like two tea cups – in one hand, and a bag with a logo she recognized from one of the tea houses she often frequented with Kakashi.

"Sorry – I know I'm late", he admitted with a sheepish grin, when he finally reached her and even ducked his head a bit, as if he'd expected her to hit him – which wasn't exactly far-fetched, to be honest. "I didn't think it'd be so busy… I hope you like tea? I have some other stuff as well – but please don't ask me what it's called, I'm still not really familiar with your kind of food yet..."

She was deeply ashamed to admit it, but he had managed to throw her off balance insomuch, that she completely forgot about her anger and simply accepted the tea cup he shoved in her hands without a word. He placed the bag he still held in his other hand on the ground and cast a brief glance in Pakkun's direction while he did that, wincing when he spotted the pug.

She had been aware that the Ninken wasn't exactly a fan of Elric, but she wouldn't have thought the man capable of perceiving as much.

Maybe he wasn't such an idiot after all.

He managed to surprise her even further, when he clapped his hands and placed his palms on the ground in front of the tree. A blueish light appeared before he seemingly created a blanket out of thin air, right there below his fingers! Without a word he sat down on it, as if it had been nothing and rested his back casually against the tree trunk, before he started to unpack the bag he had fetched again.

Sakura just stood there and stared dumbfounded at the man, waiting for some sort of smug comment – but nothing came. He had just created a blanket from _nothing,_ without requiring _any_ chakra – and now he sat there and busied himself with unpacking this stupid bag as if it hadn't been any trouble at all!

"Had I known you'd be here as well, I would've bought something for you too", he suddenly muttered and cast a careful glance at Pakkun again, who eyed Elric with a sour glare, "But… you can have my share if you want..."

Huh, nice try…

"You won't be able to win me over so easily, whelp", the dog stated roughly, but approached the blanket nonetheless and made himself comfortable beside the man, "But I'll accept the offer!"

Elric sighed, as if he'd hoped Pakkun would decline and pulled the remaining food out of the bag to arrange it neatly on the blanket.

"You coming?", he suddenly addressed her, looking up at Sakura with a small smile and patted the blanket beside him, "I don't bite – and it'll get cold."

A bit embarrassed that she'd been standing there like a fool all the while, she immediately followed his advice and sat down beside him. The blanket wasn't really soft, but it would prevent her clothes from possible staining. Not that she would've minded – it were her training clothes after all…

To be frank: she was rather surprised about Elric's behavior. It was practically the exact opposite of what she'd expected, as he'd been rather friendly so far and had obviously even bought some breakfast for her – not that she was hungry, she'd already eaten with Kakashi, but still… She had to admit it would have been a nice gesture.

Had he been on time.

And had they made an appointment to eat breakfast rather than to start their training!

Surveying the many cartons and containers before her with critical eyes, she reached for one that probably contained soup. When she had carefully opened the lid, she couldn't suppress a smile when the delicious aroma drifted towards her nose.

"That's miso soup", she explained to the man beside her and fetched one of the chopstick pairs, before she shoved both of it in his chest and waited until he finally got the hint and hurriedly grabbed it. "I've already had breakfast", she told him sternly and couldn't contain a flippant remark, "As _you_ should have – we're here to _train_ , not to _eat_!"

It was rather satisfying to throw that back at him, as it had been Elric, who had told her something along those lines not too long ago. _'I'm here to_ eat _, not to indulge in the latest gossip'_ – jerk!

But when she saw him wincing guiltily beside her, she immediately regretted her sharp words and tried to make up for it – she was just a much too nice person after all… "I don't think Pakkun will eat yours, as it's a vegetarian dish, so you can at least eat two portions of soup."

Pakkun only grunted in confirmation and sniffed the other cartons until he obviously found an attractive one for himself and opened it with his teeth, while his paws held it in place. He was really a clever little fella – Kakashi was a lucky man to have such cute summons...

"Miso soup, huh?", Elric repeated the name of the dish as if to try it's the syllables out and stirred the liquid with his chopsticks, before he fished a piece out and took the first bite. "Not bad."

As the blonde man didn't stress table manners too much – though, he could have argued that there wasn't any table present at the moment – it fortunately didn't take him too long to finish his breakfast and Pakkun had even managed to devour his share before him. He consumed enormous amounts for one man, but it wasn't as if Sakura hadn't expected as much, after his display the prior evening.

She had been sitting patiently beside them without a word and watched the whole scene with a sigh here and a shake of her head there, while she nipped on her jasmine tea every now and then.

"Kakashi wants you to sign these papers before we start", she explained in her professional working tone and pulled a scroll out of Pakkun's pouch, when Elric had emptied the last carton. "Are you familiar with our characters, or do you need me to read it to you?", she asked casually, but couldn't suppress a self-satisfied smirk. She was pretty sure that he'd need her help now and it'd probably hurt his ego to admit that – which was something that definitely should happen more often, as inflated as it was…

"Of course – I've spent the last year in Xing. Hand me the scroll – I have to know what he wants me to sign before I place my name anywhere", he demanded, but obviously made an effort not to sound too rude, as his tone was still rather friendly – as if it had been just a _suggestion_ – and was already studying the content, while she still eyed him bewildered.

"Don't tell me you learned to read and speak our language in _one_ year?!", she exclaimed, which obviously attracted his attention enough to cause him to look up at her.

"Of _course_ not!", he scoffed and almost seemed offended, "I spent most of the year studying their form of Alchemy – couldn't have done that without knowing what's written in all those books, could I?" He turned his attention back to the scroll in his hands but kept explaining, "Took me two fucking months to get everything in my head though… was a shit ton of work I have to admit – never seen such a damn difficult writing system..."

That guy couldn't be _serious_!

Okay – it had been a while since she'd learned how to read, but she remembered that it had taken her much longer than _two months_ to become fluent. She'd been a kid then, but it was common knowledge that learning – no matter what and which field – was much easier while you where young.

Elric was probably around her age now, something between twenty and twenty-five – and therefore way beyond the age he'd have had an advantage in leaning a language! This idiot was definitely just talking crap and probably tried to impress her with his brains…

"So basically it states our training regime – three days a week I'll have to instruct you, three days you have to train me and one day we'll be taking off", he noted, while his eyes still scanned the scroll before him, "If one of us backs out, the other wouldn't be left with nothing – that's good. Already feared you'd try to trick me..."

He looked up briefly to eye her with a calculating glare, before he turned his attention to the scroll again. "But he want's my word that I won't tell anyone about anything I learn from you", he muttered and looked up at her again, a frown apparent on his face now. "I can't sign that."

"Why not – that's the usual course of action in such situations, brat!", Pakkun remarked and narrowed his eyes on the blonde man.

"I'm not someone who keeps knowledge to himself!", Elric exclaimed and seemed to be rather upset now, while he turned the scroll and placed it on the blanket, "I don't know how practical your _j_ _utsus_ are, but I'm sure they can be used to help people in some way – I won't keep such knowledge to myself if that's the case!"

Sakura was a bit baffled by that revelation, as she had never seen it that way and she had to admit, that it shed another light on the man beside her.

Maybe he wasn't such a self-centered jerk after all…

He clapped his hands again and placed his palms on one of the roots beside him, which suddenly started to shift and reform until he held something like a black pencil in his fingers. Without a warning he began to scribble something on the scroll's backside – probably his alterations and additions – before he finally placed his name below it (she could only tell, because it was written in other characters). She would have liked to read what he'd added, but he immediately rolled the scroll up again and held it into Pakkun's face.

"Shall I put it back into your pouch?", he asked in a much calmer voice now, and when the obviously baffled Ninken only nodded, he tucked it back where Sakura had pulled it from.

"I'll head back to the office then", the pug stated and turned to face her, "Wait for my return before you start – maybe he'll have a few additions as well..."

When Pakkun turned and headed towards the Hokage tower, Sakura only sighed in defeat and slumped against the trunk behind her. That'd be fun – killing time with Elric. Yay…

"I'm sorry for my behavior yesterday...", the man beside her suddenly mumbled and she turned her head in surprise to make sure she'd heard right and he'd really been talking to her. He had a sheepish grin on his face again and glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.

Those eyes… She had to admit that they were kind of mesmerizing – she'd never seen such an eye color before. They almost appeared to be golden – just like his hair. Those traits were the first that caught her attention when they met the day before. His appearance had stood out like a bonfire in the night – and she'd been drawn to it like a moth…

The moment he had first opened his mouth to talk though, had been rather anticlimactic. He was not nearly as interesting a conversationalist, as she had hoped…

"I know it's no excuse, but I've had a long journey and just got to eat my first real meal in four days… I was a bit cranky", he explained and made a dismissive gesture with his hand, "I shouldn't have taken it out on you though – I'm sorry for that..."

Sakura tilted her head and examined him more closely, to make sure that this was really the same man sitting beside her now; the same man who had caught her wrist in a rather brutal grip the day before. Where had that insensitive jerk gone?

The collar of his reddish brown coat was turned up and brushed his jawline, but it was unbuttoned and revealed a white shirt beneath it. His golden hair hung braided over his right shoulder, where the fabric of his coat seemed to be reinforced with leather. One of his arms rested casually on his tucked up knee, while his other lay loosely beside him. The slacks he wore, were quite form fitting and black in color.

Overall it was a rather unusual appearance – so it was definitely the same guy!

"Would you have apologized, if I hadn't been appointed as your tutor for an unforeseeable time?", she deadpanned, but couldn't help and cocked an eyebrow when he only met her glance head-on.

"Probably not...", he admitted after a few seconds of hesitation and shrugged nonchalantly, "But I probably wouldn't have met you quite so soon either..."

"I suppose you've got a point there", she grumbled and closed her eyes tiredly. She shouldn't have stayed up so long last night. But the fact that she'd have to face the blonde man beside her, had driven her up the wall and made it impossible for her to even _think_ about sleeping…

"This trick with the blanket and later the pencil – is that what you're going to teach me?", she asked, trying to sound as bored as possible, while she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. She had to admit to herself though, that it had been quite an impressive show. To create something without needing any form of power for it seemed like magic to her and was – frankly – _amazing_. She had absolutely no idea how he'd done it – but she desperately wanted to know…

"That wasn't a _trick_!", he scoffed, apparently offended with a frown visible on his face, but when he turned his head to look at her sharply, his features softened after a few moments, as if he just remembered something – probably that she simply didn't know any better, as she had _no_ _damn clue_ what he'd been doing there after all. "It's _science_. I probably should thank your Hokage for assigning me to a medic – I won't have to tell you much about the physical and chemical basics. Saves me a lot of time and nerves", he chuckled and leant his head back against the trunk to look at the canopy.

"Science, huh?", she asked a bit baffled and rested her arms on her crossed legs. Leaning forward a little, she watched the man beside her with calculating eyes. He seemed to be deep in thought – or childishly mesmerized by the reddish leaves, waving in the gentle autumn breeze – or both… "Looked like magic for me – you didn't even use any chakra...", she noted and flicked a finger against his knee to get his attention when he didn't reply right away.

When his head spun in her direction again, he seemed a bit startled at first and a small crease emerged between his slightly furrowed eyebrows. She was just about to rephrase her previous statement to a question, when he relaxed against the haggard bark again and started to talk.

"It's nothing to do with magic. It's a technique that's been known to my home country for centuries. With the use of the right arrays, an Alchemist is able to form matter to his will", he explained, while his eyes were glued to the leaves and the sky above them again, "But you can't create something out of nothing – you always need a material to start from. I, for example, used grass and reformed its fibers to a linen blanket, while I took the carbon that's contained in pretty much everything of natural origin – just as the root of this tree – to form graphite."

"Sounds complicated", she admitted with a frown and leant back against the tree as well. Her eyes involuntarily traveled upwards, to see if there was anything particularly interesting up there, that kept his attention so persistently captured. But other than a hawk circling in the sky, probably in search for prey, she wasn't able to detect anything that could have explained his fixation.

"It demands a lot of concentration in the beginning", he explained, which immediately drew her gaze back to him, "But it becomes natural the more you practice."

"You were talking about an array earlier – I haven't seen you using any, so… how did you do it?", she asked and had to realize that her voice sounded embarrassingly curious. She cursed inwardly and gritted her teeth in annoyance.

Why did her Alchemy teacher have to be this pompous jerk? She _was_ curious and she _wanted_ to learn – she just didn't want to give him the satisfaction of realizing that…

But as it appeared, Elric seemed to be more startled by the question itself, than by the tone it had been voiced in. His head spun in her direction and he regarded her skeptically, before he bit on his lip, obviously contemplating something. The expression on his face changed again and if she'd been forced to name it, she'd said he looked almost _pained_ …

It was strange.

And she felt horrible, because she had the feeling she'd asked something decidedly personal without realizing it…

"I am a … _special_ case", he admitted reluctantly, while his gaze remained pinned to the blanket they sat on, his face unusually blank all of a sudden. "I only need to _think_ of the array and form the transmutation circle with my hands."

He brought his palms together, showing the pose he'd been talking about and looked up at her briefly, probably to check if she was still able to follow him. When she nodded hurriedly, his eyes scurried back to the blanket and he resumed his explanation.

"Most Alchemists need something to draw a circle with – preferably chalk – and a surface to draw on", he elaborated in a calm voice, "The matter that should be transmuted is either placed in the center of the circle or it is written on it. To activate the transmutation, the Alchemist only needs to touch his fingers to the array and concentrate on the desired effect."

"I suppose there are many different arrays then?", she asked, trying not to let herself be affected by how worn out he had looked for a moment, when she'd asked her previous question.

"Yes. There is an almost infinite number as they can be modified easily", he explained while he started to draw something on the blanket with the pencil that had still been lying beside him. "The more accurate the transmutation circle is, the less concentration is required from the Alchemist. Some prefer multi purpose arrays though, as they can be tattooed on their hands and save them the time they'd need to draw a circle – pretty handy in combat; though the really efficient ones are rather accurate circles that needed quite some brainwork to create."

He looked up at her for a moment, as if to gauge Sakura's reaction to his last statement, but as she made an effort not to show any, he soon concentrated on his array again. It became more and more intricate, while he added lines and some unfamiliar characters with the precision of an experienced calligrapher.

"Put your fingers to the circle's edge like that", he instructed and laid his own along the outer circle.

"Do I need to think of anything?"

"No – all the information needed is written there", he explained patiently and laid back against the trunk, while he gestured her to follow his request.

Hesitantly she leant forward and arranged her fingers like he wanted her to, but kept them hovering above the array to cast a last questioning glance at Elric. He'd resumed his former pose, one of his arms casually draped over his knee, and nodded in confirmation.

When she touched her fingers to the blanket, she felt a strange pull, as if something of her was drawn into the circle, but it whipped back almost instantly. An already familiar blueish light appeared, radiating from the lines of the array, and before she knew it there was a little wooden figure lying in the middle of a hole in the blanket.

As if it had a mind on its own, her hand reached out to curiously touch it with a careful finger at first, making sure that it wouldn't fall to pieces again, and lifted it off the ground just as cautiously.

"I thought it was fitting...", she heard Elric mumble almost apologetically and when she lifted her gaze from the flower figure to him, she realized that he had averted his face, his fringes hiding it altogether.

Was the jerk actually _embarrassed_?

This strange behavior immediately caused her to redirect her attention to the flower in her hands again and take a closer look. The petals were almost as thin as paper and had a faint, pink tint. One of her eyebrows arched almost automatically, when she realized what he'd meant.

"A cherry blossom. How _imaginative_."

But just as those sarcastically hissed words had left her lips, she already regretted them and bit on her tongue in annoyance. She'd had to endure a lot of bad jokes in her school and academy time because of her strange hair color and now, years later, those jokes had turned into rather dump pick-up lines. She was so tired of such allusions…

The flower in her hands was really beautiful and delicate though, and even if it _really_ hadn't exactly been inventive, she had to admit that the gesture was somehow sweet.

A tiny little bit at least.

For _his_ standards.

She was just about to relent and tell him that she really admired the fragile little thing, when a rough voice ripped through the tense silence between them.

"Kakashi's okay with the additions the whelp made, but you'll have to tune the content of his lessons down a bit", Pakkun shouted from afar, while he still jogged in their direction, "He suggests you start with the alchemic part – wants to talk about the details with you tomorrow morning!"

"I'm okay with that", Sakura shrugged and turned her head to gauge Elric's reaction, "What about you?"

"Okay as well – at least for the moment", he agreed and got up from his sitting position. He was brushing his pants off while Sakura picked herself up as well, only to bend forward again, as soon as Pakkun reached them, to pat the pug on the head.

"Thanks for delivering the messages, Pakkun", she told him and scratched him behind one of his ears, which prompted him to close his eyes appreciatively, "You probably should head back to Kakashi though – he may need you..."

"K – but I get an extra share of scratches tomorrow...", he tried to bribe and Sakura only chuckled before she gave him a nudge. The dog immediately got the hint and took off again, grumbling something under his breath that suspiciously sounded like 'ungrateful kid' and was soon out of eyeshot.

When Sakura's attention drifted back to Elric, she realized that he'd positioned himself out on the field and was looking at the sky again his arms crossed in front of his chest. Sighing heavily she made her way towards him, making sure to store the little flower securely away in her hip pouch. Now she could at least be certain, that he'd indeed been watching the hawk earlier…

It caught her by surprise, when he suddenly put his thumb and forefinger to his mouth and whistled, but what baffled her even more was the animal's reaction: it immediately changed its direction and headed towards them now – nosediving. Elric had just enough time to reach in one of his pockets to fetch a long, thick glove and hurriedly slip it on, before the bird had reached them and was getting ready to land, its heavily clawed feet stretched out to grab onto the first thing it could reach.

Fortunately that was a leather covered forearm, so nobody got hurt. She wouldn't have wanted to waste her chakra on this idiot – especially not if his injury had been caused by his own stupidity…

"Long time no see, old friend", Elric greeted the hawk, which she now realized was probably _his_ , "I already feared I'd lost you somewhere in River Country..."

The animal just stared at him unconcerned, before it started to scratch one of its feet along the leather of the man's glove. It's attractively red colored head was tilted downwards, probably to keep a close eye on the damage its fangs inflicted.

"You're rather demanding lately", Elric stated and huffed, "Shouldn't have spoiled you so much..." Without a warning he bent his knees and made a quick waving motion with his arm, which almost vaulted the bird from his forearm and the hawk whipped its wings erratically for a few times, to gather some height again and keep from kissing the ground. It winged a circle around them and shrieked two times, as if trying to proclaim its discontent, before it rose to dizzying heights once again.

"Is that your messenger bird?", she asked a bit baffled, while her eyes still followed the little dot in the sky.

"Yup, that's Riza", he told her and bit his lip, an expression as if he tried to suppress a grin briefly scurrying over his face, "Got her from a Xingese friend who wants me to stay in touch." He just shrugged nonchalantly and absentmindedly kicked a stone away, before he slipped his leather glove off again and stuffed it into his pocket again. "Took me a while to train her, but I think it was worth the trouble – she's really reliable and at the moment my only way to communicate with my brother."

"You've got a brother?", Sakura asked in surprise, and honestly, that thought would never have occurred to her – his behavior had practically _screamed_ singleton so far…

"Yup – but we should probably quit our little chitchat and start with your first lesson", he told her with a lopsided grin and promptly turned on his heels to head back to the tree he had eaten his breakfast under earlier.

They spent the rest of the day sitting on the blanket he'd made and luckily he was so kind to produce a stack of paper for her, because the three pathetic pieces she had brought along where nowhere near enough…

As it turned out he was a sheer bottomless well on information – at least as long as it concerned natural sciences. Whenever she had a question – and even if she deemed it a really tricky one – he had an immediate answer far more often than not, and _if_ he needed to think about it, it never took longer than ten to twenty seconds to come up with a useful suggestion.

And this Alchemy-thing _was_ mesmerizing. It was closer to _'magic'_ than anything she'd ever seen before – even if she wouldn't dare to say that out loud anymore; Elric had seemed quite offended the last time…

But the stuff was tricky and he wouldn't allow her to actually activate any of the circles she drew that day, as the things he'd shown her by then were merely the _'basics'_ – as he'd called it.

Those _'basics'_ were about 100 different symbols, and while some of them were pretty similar, each had its own meaning she'd have to memorize. Then there was this totally different writing system he drilled into her – and it wasn't even the one of his home country, but of some old, long dead people, who'd apparently been the pioneers in this science branch.

She soon realized, that it'd probably take her a while until she'd be really able to draw her first totally working transmutation circle and it somehow made her grumpy – despite the fact that she finally'd found the first thing that managed to awaken her genuine interest, since she'd given her two former teammates their limbs back. Or at least something to replace them, they would be able to work with…

The next days only confirmed the impression she received in those first few hours of intense brain work – Elric was frighteningly intelligent. She could only guess how much knowledge was hidden behind that thick skull of his – starting at all the languages he probably spoke fluently. She was still somewhat perturbed that he'd managed to learn their language – even in written form! – in only two months. Nobody should be able to absorb knowledge so fast – it was against nature…

What annoyed her even more, was the fact, that she herself only spoke Xingese. There had never been any reason to learn any other language, as it was spoken all over the Elemental Nations as well and they hadn't much contact with any of the other bordering countries.

Xing had kept their respectful distance, since the big battle about two hundred years ago. The ninjas had forcefully put the Xingese in their place and none of the following emperors'd had the guts to ever try conquering any of the Elemental Countries again, but for obvious reasons their willingness to trade became none existent at that point.

The fact that Xing had inaugurated their new emperor only about a year ago, and that nobody really knew anything about him and his plans for his country's future, was admittedly somewhat disturbing. But they had managed to successfully fight a god – Sakura was pretty sure that Xing's new ruler wouldn't be able to come up with anything nearly as threatening…

Aerugo even had less reason to start a war against them, as they had enough problems with their other bordering countries – especially the one Elric was from. From what she had heard about his place, it was a pretty cruel state with military in charge and therefore always in quest of the next country to conquer. She wasn't really sure why Aerugo refused to trade with Wind country, but she supposed they simply were suspicious and the language barrier probably didn't exactly help the case…

It was frustrating to know, that Elric probably spoke various languages fluently and was certainly also able to read them, while she herself only had learned a single one. Pathetic…

But though she had already feared the worst – because honestly, even if he _was_ a genius, he wouldn't have had to be so _smug_ about it – he was astoundingly willing to learn and didn't even talk back when she told him that they'd have to train his body as well, after their first few hours in theoretical chakra lessons.

What good was all the theory and even the most effective jutsu, if you weren't fast enough to escape, or strong enough to deflect the first strike of your opponent?

"All is one and one is all. If you want to train your mind, you have to train the body as well", was all he'd said in a nonchalant voice and shrugged, before he stood up in a swift motion and brushed the wrinkles out of his slacks.

"It would probably be better if you wore something more comfortable from now on", she suggested and just gestured from his trousers to the button-down shirt he wore. It was his usual attire – she'd gathered as much by then – but those buttons wouldn't be staying in place for long if they started to spar and he couldn't have much mobility with those form fitting slacks of his.

And those shoes! How could he even _walk_ with them? They looked thick and inflexible – he'd never have a good grip on the trees if he couldn't really feel what was below his feet – and that was practically _impossible_ with his footwear!

"Nah – that's okay, I'm used to it by now. But I'll wear another shirt tomorrow if it makes you happy", he told her with a wink and suddenly changed his casual stance to a position that almost looked like a defense pose. "Are we gonna do this now, or what?"

His cocky attitude immediately brought her blood to boil and the only warning he got before she attacked, was an annoyed growl. She hadn't put much of her strength into the punch and of course she wasn't using any chakra (she wanted to teach him a lesson – _literally_ – not kill him, after all; even if she had to remind herself about that every now and then) but she was still baffled that he managed to block it – and as it seemed, even with surprising ease.

Sakura gradually increased the force of her kicks and punches, but she was almost at the level she normally used for her morning routine with Kakashi, when she landed her first hit. He sucked in a harsh breath, but didn't seem fazed otherwise. His tactic however, changed drastically from then on.

He'd been passively blocking her attacks so far, but now that she'd managed to hit him, he started to deliver some punches as well. Kakashi had told her Elric was considered a civilian until proven otherwise, but no one could tell her this man didn't have experience in fighting! He knew exactly when to block and when to try his luck for a punch – and as she had to admit grudgingly: he landed some. And they weren't half bad…

"You could have told me that you have fighting experience", she pointed out in an annoyed tone and wiped some sweat from her forehead, when they paused for a moment.

"Where'd the fun in that be?", he just asked with a smirk and wiped the back of his hand over his mouth as well, to get rid of some of the blood leaking from his chapped bottom lip. She'd wanted to land a hit to his left cheek, but he had turned his head in the last moment – probably trying to avert it altogether – and she had met the corner or his mouth and jaw instead. Her knuckles still hurt from that…

They continued their match, and honestly – had it been anyone else, she'd long since cut it off, as the training effect would already be more than enough for their purpose. But she somehow _ached_ to make a point – to put him in his place, _damnit!_ – and thus their session ended only, when she managed to finally overpower him completely and had him pinned to the ground.

"Not so smug anymore, huh?", she just asked and couldn't suppress a smirk, while her forearm pressed hard enough against his throat, that she could feel his pulse. His right arm lay outstretched and limp by his side, while his other was securely held in place over his head by her own hand.

He stared silently at her for a few moments, but he neither seemed pissed, nor even surprised that she'd managed to tackle him down.

"I was wondering how long it'd take you to loose your nerves with me", he admitted and a small smile emerged around the corners of his lips, creating little dimples in his cheeks, "I had hoped I'd get to see some of your jutsus though. Wasn't nearly good enough for that, huh?"

He chuckled, but his voice wasn't holding any mirth and actually sounded rather bitter. Oh, how she would have liked to feel smug about this now; to rub it in, that she'd had the upper hand after all – but her traitorous body had obviously other plans, as she felt her cheeks heating up furiously, before she even had the chance to feel guilty…

"You might not have seen it, but I had to use some", she admitted grudgingly through gritted teeth and let go of him, sitting back on her heels, "How do you think I managed to incapacitate your arm?"

His eyes widened in surprise and scurried to his right arm briefly, before he regarded her with a questioning look. "It happens from time to time – feels like it's not really part of my body for a few minutes. I didn't think anything about it", he admitted slowly and furrowed his brows in a contemplating look, "You did that? _How?_ "

"That happened before?", she asked baffled, completely ignoring his question and to her annoyance she had to realize that a slightly concerned undertone sneaked into her voice, "Without any outside influences?"

"Yes… I know that sounds weird, but I think it's quite normal in my case", he told her nonchalantly and tried to prop his torso on his elbows – only his right arm wouldn't quite comply. "Could you – I don't know – _fix_ it again?"

"Of course...", she muttered and immediately bent forwards again, placing her fingers on his shoulder for a moment to reestablish the chakra flow she had meddled with. The path was cleared again within a matter of seconds, but she maintained the connection a bit longer to check his arm for old injuries.

It was definitely _not_ normal that it went limp every now and then and there had to be a reason somewhere. Pushing a fraction of her own chakra into his system, she started to look for any possible damage. She took an especially close look on the nerves in his shoulder and she could tell, that he must have had a really severe accident some time back, as the response she got almost reminded her a bit of Naruto's checkups.

He probably hid a nasty scar under this shirt he wore, but she couldn't really say that she found any reason why his arm reacted the way it obviously did sometimes. It seemed totally fine and well healed…

A cough suddenly ripped her out of her musings and her eyes immediately settled on Elric's face who regarded her with lifted eyebrows. "The feeling's back for a while now, I think you can let go and … I don't mean to be rude, but – maybe get off of me as well?", he asked carefully, and she immediately felt her cheeks heat up in response when she realized that she was still straddling him. "I know you somehow spaced out – it happens to me too, quite often actually – but… well – you're a medic, I don't think I need to tell you what this position does to my body…"

When he grinned a bit sheepishly and tilted his head a bit, her eyes widened and her face grew even hotter – actually it felt as if it were in _flames_. She immediately jumped off of him as if he had been the one burning her, but otherwise tried to keep a cool composure.

After all she hadn't done anything wrong – she merely wanted to teach him a lesson, that was all! He had been the one telling her about his strange arm – he should have known that she'd take a look and she couldn't work miracles – of course it took her some time to check him up…

"I just needed to put you in your place", she only stated in her defense and crossed her arms in front of her chest. In all honesty – she felt like a school kid again, bearing a grunge and moping around. Her appearance probably also fit rather well to that picture, but she couldn't care less at the moment.

She was embarrassed as hell – had absolutely _no_ clue why – and the last thing she wanted was, that he realized how uncomfortable this situation made her feel. Why she even bothered was beyond her – her face earlier would probably have made any tomato jealous and she supposed that had given her pretty much away anyway…

"I'm totally aware that I have absolutely no chance against you in hand to hand combat", he sighed wearily, when he had gotten up again and brushed the dust from his clothes. As soon as he looked up at her again, she felt her stubborn frown falter and a careful smile appeared around his lips. "I know I come across as a smug bastard sometimes, but it's really not my intention. I just – I don't know… sometimes I feel like what I've got on wit in abundance, I fucking lack in social awareness…"

"You are extraordinarily intelligent – I give you that – but your attitude sometimes really pisses me off", Sakura grumbled and kicked a stone in his direction, "You remind me a bit of a former teammate – but he had a good excuse for his anti-social behavior..."

Elric just sighed and his shoulders sagged before he sat on the ground where he stood. "I know what I'm capable of and I don't see any fucking reason why I should hide the confidence in my abilities – it's not like I'm running around and telling everyone my damn life story as if I were some fucking _hero_. I'm far from that..." He sighed again and wiped a hand slowly over his face, before he leant his head back in the neck for a brief moment and closed the eyes, as if he had to compose himself. "What I'm trying to say is – I may seem cocky, but I'm aware that my abilities are limited; that there is still so _much_ to learn out there – still so much to learn from _you_ guys! Did you know that they're telling stories about you in Xing? About a golden boy with the power of nine suns, fighting a god?"

Sakura only blinked dumbly at the man sitting in front of her for a few times, before she burst into laughter. She didn't really know what exactly was so funny about it, but it felt good to feel all the tension fade away, while she doubled over. A few minutes later she found herself sitting in front of a rather perturbed blonde, who eyed her skeptically.

"I have absolutely no idea what's so fucking funny about that. I actually thought it sounded rather impressive...", he admitted a bit grumpily and crossed his arms over the chest.

"Well, you don't know this _'_ _golden boy_ _with the power of nine suns'_ yet", she chuckled and shook her head in disbelieve, "I have to tell him about that – or better not; it'll probably only get to his head..."

"You _know_ him?", Elric asked in surprise and his arms immediately unfolded again. Leaning his elbows on his knees instead, he bent forward to eye her expectantly, as if he wanted her to tell him more.

"Well yeah… He's one of my best friends and also a former teammate", she told him and couldn't help a soft tone creeping into her voice, "I'm sure you'll meet him soon. He'll be the next Hokage."

"Huh...", Elric only muttered and averted his gaze for a moment, obviously contemplating something, before he muttered, "Then they weren't kidding..."

"Who wasn't kidding?", she asked curiously and now it was her, who leant towards him and eyed him expectantly.

"Well your number one Mask-guy and Tsunade", he admitted and his eyes scurried back to meet hers. A small smile played around his lips and he tilted his head to the side as if that would suddenly reveal a totally new perspective or something. "They said you were one of the best ninjas – not only of this village but in general. If you were on his team, you probably had to grow strong to stand your ground..."

"Yeah – something like that...", she muttered, and just like that, the small spark of happiness over the praise of her former senseis drowned in self-pity again. She knew she should stop fretting about the past and even more important, she needed to stop thinking about this damn Uchiha!

He hadn't left her once, but _twice_ now – and the first time he abandoned not only her, but the whole village! Hell for some time he had even been her enemy – once he'd even tried to seriously kill her!

But for some irrational reason she just couldn't get the man out of her head… Why wouldn't she just accept that he'd never be the man she wanted him to be?

* * *

 **AN:** Hey there :) I hope you liked the new chapter and you're okay with the way I pictured Sakura's POV ;) The next chapter will be written from Ed's POV again :)

Thanks for the positive feedback :) It's always motivating to read that someone else is reading this story and likes it enough to leave a few words - thanks guys!

at **Guest 1** : I hope you're okay with Pakkun in this chapter as well? :)

at **Guest 2** : the POV change hopefully hasn't diminished your interest in the story ^^'

Thanks for reading - and I hope some of you will leave a few words for me :)  
Till the next chapter  
~Orange


	4. How To Get Important Answers

...

" _Don't walk in front of me – I may not follow  
Don't walk behind me – I may not lead  
Walk beside me – just be my friend"  
_ _ **― Albert Camus**_

* * *

 _Lesson 4: How to get important answers_

"Hey handsome, I've never seen you here before – what's your name?", the woman with the especially _generous_ cleavage asked him when he approached their table. She was accompanied by three other women, none of whom was wearing a ninja headband – which was just fine with him: he wouldn't be pressed to remain friendly if this got out of hand…

"Ed. What would you like to drink?"

If he sounded a bit snippy, it _may_ have been because he had heard the term _'handsome'_ shot at him for the umpteenth time that night – and he _really_ would've appreciated it if those damn customers minded their own business and didn't waste his time with unnecessary smalltalk or dumb questions…

Normally he would have flirted a bit – as that always brought him higher tips, and he could really use the extra money at the moment – but hearing people addressing him with that particular term one too many times that night, had put him in a sour mood.

They were here to drink after all – and for the third night in a row he was there to serve. So they should fucking stick to their script and leave him the hell alone! About twenty minutes ago he had vowed to himself, that he'd buy the first person a drink, who actually immediately _ordered_ something when he approached them. Needless to say, that he had no such luck so far…

"Just bring us two bottles of sake, honey", the brunette with the questionable fashion sense chirped and he gritted his teeth to keep his temper under control. The other three women just sat there and observed their interaction in silence, but he could have sworn that the blonde one's mouth twitched into a smirk for a brief moment.

"And would you be so kind as to tell me _which_ sake you'd like to have?", he asked through gritted teeth, but tried to keep his voice as sweet as possible – he wouldn't mind receiving a tip after all…

"Oh, _surprise_ me, darling!", she almost _purred_ and leant towards him, offering him an even deeper look, while she placed her hand on his forearm. He forced a brief smile on his face before he turned without another word and hurried back to the bar. He didn't intend to give her the chance to touch him elsewhere…

Damn those pushy women… No – that was unfair, it weren't only women. There had also been a few men hitting on him. But what the hell did they think? He was trying to _work_ here – for fuck's sake! He would probably _not_ follow them to the restroom just because they fluttered their damn eyes at him and hit him with cheap flattery; even if he had to admit: he'd been tempted a few times…

 _'Handsome'_ … If they knew how he looked beneath all those layers of fabric, they wouldn't talk so much shit…

"Ren, you're the specialist here! Tell me: which of those is the grossest one?", Ed asked the man, who was just busy with mixing a cocktail beside him, and gestured with a big grin towards the two shelves that contained different kinds of sake. The young bartender first only cocked an eyebrow at him – which was barely noticeable under his thick, black bangs – but then he chuckled and shook his head in disbelieve.

"Take this one", he told him with a smirk and pulled a bottle from the top shelve, "How many glasses have you already spit in, Ed?"

"Do you really want an answer for that?"

"… Probably not", his colleague muttered and only shook his head again, "Just try not to get in too much trouble, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll be a fucking _saint_ ", Ed grinned and turned to the shelve again, to get another bottle of the same brand. He quickly fetched four glasses before he headed back to the table with the annoying brunette and immediately placed one of the bottles and the glasses onto the table, ignoring the sultry grin the brunette regarded him with. When he had opened the other one, he silently poured them the sake one by one. But just when he reached the last glass, the blonde – the one who'd smirked earlier – held her hand over it and shook her head.

"I changed my mind", she told him with a blank face, but her piercing glance warned him that she was probably aware of his scheme, "I'd prefer an apple shochu – and tell Ren it's for Ino!"

Ed was only barely able to suppress a grin and nodded in understanding. But he just couldn't bring himself to return to the bar without at least dropping one tiny comment.

"Enjoy the drink, ladies", he told them in a singsong voice, and winked at the blonde before he returned to the bar to place Ino's order.

"Man – you're in trouble. That chick is tough – she can make your life hell!", Ren warned him, when he'd heard whom the drink would be for, "She has pretty good connections, you know."

Ed's eyes wandered back to the table Ino sat at, while he leant casually against the counter and observed the blonde carefully, silently wondering if he'd already angered her enough to draw the wrath of said connections onto his person, or if he'd still be able to prevent the worst...

Ren was mixing her cocktail in the meantime, pouring the shochu and some apple juice into the shaker and placed two ice-cubes into a glass, before he began to shake, the muscles under his sun kissed skin flexing appealingly. He always seemed rather bored when he did that, which only added to his casual attractiveness.

"Tell her that's on the house", the bartender advised Ed, when he placed the glass on the counter, "And no more such antics for tonight – got it?!"

"Yeah, yeah – I already told you I'd be nice", he replied and rolled his eyes dramatically before he turned to bring the woman her fancy drink.

This wasn't exactly his dream job – sucking up to the customers (because they are _always_ right) and forcing a fucking grin on his face, even if he didn't feel like it, that is. But unfortunately nobody needed any reconstruction on their homes or anything the like of it, because most of them were rather new anyway.

Apparently one of the ninjas here was able to _produce_ wood with a special technique – which was quite impressive. Though Ed would've found it even more awesome if he wouldn't have built the _whole_ town new, and had left a few houses for _him_ instead…

He had a pile of gold stored from his days as _'Fullmetal Alchemist'_ , but unfortunately those reserves were almost exhausted, as he had handed Al most of it for his journey to Xing (of course under the pretense that it was exactly the half – his considerate little brother wouldn't have taken it otherwise and even then it still needed a great deal of persuasion). His own travels to Aerugo and Creta, and later his trip to Drachma hadn't exactly increased his money, though he always tried to take on little assignments on the way, to at least keep expanses and income balanced.

But his long stay in Xing and his travel through Wind and Rain, had gnawed on his last reserves, leaving him just enough to pay the first three months rents for his small apartment.

He was glad that Ren had been with his father, when Ed came in to apply for a job as waiter in their bar. _'The Spinning Shuriken'_ was one of the more frequented pubs in the village center and apparently always in the need of a waiter. Apparently the customers (mostly ninjas – which was not much of a surprise, given the bar's name) often caused trouble and not many of the staff were able to tolerate that in the long run.

As Ed had directly come from the training field, after Sakura had once again berated him for his _'smug attitude'_ , he wasn't in the best mood and maybe a bit too straightforward when he answered the questions the bar owner shot at him.

Needless to say that the old man was _not_ amused. Ren's grin on the other hand, had only grown throughout Ed's interview and he obviously put a good word in for him, because in the end he got the job.

Now however, he had to deal with prying customers and on top of that he apparently also had the duty to mend fences, whenever one of them had more influence than was good for the bar – or Ed, for that matter…

"This one's on the house", he announced in a smooth voice, when he placed the shochu in front of the blonde, "Ren shook it extra long – so I hope you'll like it! You could probably also inhale it now…"

She almost chocked on the first sip (taking him up on his words?), when she wasn't able to suppress a chuckle, but none of her three friends seemed overly amused. He also noted that they had opened the second bottle of sake already, although the first wasn't even emptied halfway. They probably thought there had been something wrong with the bottle top, but if their expressions were anything to go by, they had probably realized that the second tasted just as disgusting as the first.

 _Sweet_ …

"Many thanks to Ren then", Ino coughed and Ed only nodded hurriedly, not having the time for much of a reply, as he heard a crash from the other side of the room. It had sounded suspiciously like a chair crashing against a table – and he was quite sure it had been exactly that; he' heard it plenty of times the previous two nights…

With a growl he turned on his heels and sped through the room, already aware of the situation after the first few steps. Two men – obviously ninja – had an argument and were apparently unable to solve it without damaging the furnishing. The other customers around them either ignored them, or observed the scene shamelessly, but no one seemed inclined to intervene.

Fucking morons really should be forced to take an anger management lesson every once in a while…

The black haired jerk who had apparently intended to whack the blue haired guy over the head with the chair, fortunately had missed and hit the table instead. But that didn't stop him from trying once more – Ed did.

He grabbed two of the chair legs with a firm grip of his hands, knocking the victim out of harms way in the process and locked eyes with the troublemaker.

"I think you've had enough for tonight buddy – go pay your tab and get the hell out of here!", he demanded in a calm but firm tone and forced the chair that still hung in the air between them, to the floor again.

He wasn't sure if he'd be able to kick the asshole out, if the fucker really intended to make a scene, as he was quite aware of the state the table was in. So far it had only been chair legs, he'd had to mend again with alchemy – as the tabletops were all made of a rather thick and stable wooden panel. But seeing as this particular one was literally in pieces, the moron in front of him had probably more strength – and finesse, the chair was still in one piece after all – than Ed would be able to handle; not in this room at least, and not without causing even more damage to the place…

"Whaddaya know, ya lil' fucker?", the prick slurred and Ed bit his lip in anger, to keep from retorting something along the lines of _'who are you calling so short, he's barely able to climb a barstool without a ladder'._ He was way past such childish temper tantrums, but still – old habits died hard… "Outta ma way or ya gedda punch tooooo!"

"I don't think so, asshole", Ed growled out between gritted teeth and was about to grab the jerk's hands to incapacitate him. Unfortunately the drunken bastard's reflexes were still in working order – which he hadn't expected – and he had just enough time to duck his head, when a fist flew towards his face.

The fuckward didn't waste any time and immediately reached for his hip pouch – and if Ed had learned _anything_ during his sparring sessions with Sakura so far, then it was that he needed to stop him before he could whip his weapon out. But just as he lunged forward to catch the assholes hand, an orange flash entered his peripheral vision and before he knew it, he was shoved backwards and found himself staring at a black and orange clad back.

"I think he's right – you had enough buddy", the blonde man in front of him addressed the troublemaker calmly and when Ed took a step to the side, he could see that he held the assholes wrist firmly in place. "You should better go home, before you do something you might regret tomorrow", he advised – much too friendly in Ed's opinion – and to his horror he saw him letting go of the jerk's hand!

"What-", he started and just wanted to jump forward to remedy the blonde's mistake, when he took a look at the asshat's face and immediately froze in place. The idiot regarded the stranger in front of him with an almost awed look and swallowed once, before he nodded hastily.

"Sure, Naru'o – ya righ'", he slurred, before he staggered around the man and stumbled towards the exit without putting up a fight.

Huh… That had turned out better than he'd hoped.

"Thank's man", Edward addressed the blonde that still had his back turned to him and patted him appreciatively on the shoulder, before he turned to the mess the asshole had left behind. The blue haired guy he'd wanted to scuffle with, had miraculously disappeared – probably better that way; he surely hadn't been totally innocent on his own…

With a sigh he clapped his hands and placed his palms to the wood to mend the pieces back to one solid table. After years of practice he didn't need to think of the respective arrays any more – they came to his mind naturally. It didn't even take three seconds until his work was done and everything was back to its previous state.

Briefly dusting his hands off, he turned to head back to one of the tables he should attend, as he was certain that some of the customers were already waiting for their next round of sake. But he didn't come very far, as he was stopped abruptly by a hand closing firmly around his biceps, holding him back.

"What the actual f-", he exclaimed none too friendly, and whirled around to regard whoever'd deemed it a good idea to keep him from doing his fucking job, with the crossest glare he could manage. That he was met with a whiskered, grinning face was not what he'd expected though, and it pretty much stole his thunder mid sentence.

"You're Ed, right?", the blonde guy wanted to know, and when he realized that it was the same man who'd prevented a bigger mess, Ed allowed his body to relax again.

"Yeah – I'm new here", he told him reluctantly and stared boldly at the hand, which was totally wrapped in white bandages and still held him in place. Ninjas were really a weird lot; always wrapping the oddest body parts up for no real reason… "You can let go now, by the way..."

"Of course, sorry", the blonde apologized immediately, while he felt the strain leaving his arm, "I didn't know you work here! Sakura told me about you – I'm Naruto." The man's other hand – unbandaged – appeared between them and Ed only stared dumbly at it for a few seconds. "Nice to meet you!"

It was strange that Naruto would offer his left hand for a handshake and it oddly reminded Ed of his days as _'Fullmetal'_ when he grabbed it with his own left. He had always tried to hide his automail – he still did – which had forced him to always offer his flesh arm whenever social conventions forced him to shake hands.

Fortunately he was over these days now, even if these strange nerve malfunctions every now and then, kept painfully reminding him of his past.

"Nice to meet you too! So… how do you know Sakura?"

* * *

As it turned out, Naruto was the _'golden boy'_ the Xingian told stories about. Apparently those _'nine suns'_ referred to a nine-tailed fox sealed into him, which provides him with chakra whenever he asks for it and often makes him appear like a yellowish torch.

Over the next few weeks, Ed realized, that they had quite a few things in common, even if the next Hokage probably wasn't the brightest bulb in the lamp shop. Both of them were loud and demanded attention whenever they had something to say; both of them appreciated cheap food; and: both of them had once lacked an arm.

The latter was revealed to him when Edward couldn't contain his curiosity anymore and asked Naruto on one of the weekly gatherings with the man's friends – he had practically _forced_ Ed to attend them on at least one of his two free evenings – about the strange habit of keeping his right arm wrapped in bandages. The only thing Kiba had to contribute, had – of fucking _course_ – just been a _barked_ laugh.

Generally he regarded the dog-man as rather amusing fella, but the guy could also be annoying as hell. He kept pestering Ed to accompany him to the onsen for example, adamant on showing him the one – obviously _spectacular_ – whole in the fence, that separated the areas for men and women. Apparently it had managed to escape Tsunade's notice so far.

As if Ed were _that_ desperate…

Needless to say that he refrained from telling the dog-man, that he could produce as much tiny, inconspicuous wholes as he wanted, just by clapping. Instead he kept explaining, that he wasn't in the _least_ interested in frequenting a public bath – pleasing to the eye as the experience may be…

He'd had to endure the odd stares at his automail and the many scars on his body one too many times – he sure as hell wouldn't draw attention to his flaws by parading them in a bathhouse… But of course he didn't tell Kiba anything about that. The idiot would probably just tell him to stop acting like a girl…

"It looks a bit creepy, you know", Naruto had informed him with a shrug and took a sip of his sake. Lifting his right hand and spreading its fingers in front of his face, while he examined it as if it were something foreign to him and not a part of his body. "Hinata keeps telling me that's dumb, because it makes me feel even less with it, but I don't want to scare anybody off."

"I don't think that's dumb...", Ed muttered under his breath, but he was pretty sure no one but Kiba had heard him. He could relate to Naruto's feelings. If the frown on the blonde's face, while he eyed his twitching fingers, was any indication, they were apparently rather ambivalent, when it came to his arm. The man probably wore a prosthesis and just hid the metal under the layers of cloth – just like Ed had hidden his under a red coat and white gloves…

"If that is your concern, you should probably think about hiding those whiskers as well", Sai advised him helpfully and in an eerily cheerful voice, which earned the strange guy a dark glare from Naruto. That obviously didn't stop him from further speaking his mind though. "They are creepy too, dickless."

When Ed had first heard the weirdo calling Naruto _'dickless'_ , he'd struggled to regain his composure after falling into a fit of laughter. But after hearing it for the fifth time or so, it soon lost it's funny ring and became just strange.

Why the hell did the guy call Naruto _that_ of all names? As far as Ed was informed (Kiba, the onsen patron, was a rather reliable source in his opinion) he still possessed all his important parts – so why that fucking nickname?!

But he should probably return his attention to other parts of the blonde – his right arm for example…

"Did you burn it or something?", Ed asked carefully, when Naruto just kept glaring daggers at Sai and obviously didn't intend to give him a more precise explanation. He made sure to scowl at Kiba, when the guy only snickered again. Naruto's strange answer had left him with more questions than before – what the fuck did they expect?

"Oh, _hell no!_ It's regrown – Sakura told me it's part plant, that's why the texture and color's a bit different", Naruto explained with a laugh and tapped the finger of his left on the back of his right hand, apparently lost in thought for a moment.

"Wait a minute", Ed blurted out and put the beer mug, he had just been about to bring to his mouth, on the table without even taking a sip; he was _that_ baffled. "What the hell do you mean with _'regrown'_?"

"Isn't that obvious, brainless? It-", Sai started, but every further word was muffled by Naruto's hand, placed firmly over the idiot's mouth to silence him. Ed could have strangled him for choosing that particular nickname for him, but for the time being the two blondes regarded the anti-social ninja (Ed would never have thought he'd ever find himself calling anybody else _'anti-social'_ , but apparently there _were_ some individuals in existence, who were even less versed in the specifics of social interaction than him…) only with annoyed frowns, before Naruto decided to explain his situation.

"I lost the arm in battle, but Sakura regrew it for me in her lab."

Ed only blinked a few times while he stared flabbergasted at the blonde opposite of him, digesting the information.

He couldn't be serious, could he?

"You mean to tell me that Sakura – the badass ninja-woman who beats the shit out of me whenever it's her turn to teach – managed to create a completely functioning arm for you?!", he inquired dumbfounded and Naruto only nodded with a proud grin.

Ed couldn't help it and grabbed over the table to yank the limb in question under his nose for a close inspection. This couldn't really be an arm of flesh and blood! It was impossible – the people here couldn't be that much ahead in their biomedical sciences! They didn't even have phones! No trains either – the gathering of information for such a task would have been at least ten times harder that way!

Fuck this – it just _couldn't_ be real!

Naruto let a startled yelp loose, obviously surprised by Ed's sudden drive to inspect his arm, but neither pulled it back, nor objected when Ed started to peel the bandages from his fingers.

He couldn't believe it.

When he had pulled enough of the fabric away to reveal Naruto's complete right hand, all he could do was stare at it in awe and poke it experimentally. The skin felt normal enough and even if the complexion wasn't the right shade, he couldn't really understand why the ninja felt the need to hide it. It looked like a totally normal hand! – plus a few odd crinkles here and there.

"Do you feel that?", he asked amazed and poked Naruto's palm experimentally. The laugh he received in return caused him to rip his gaze from his momentary object of interest and lift it to the blonde's grinning face.

"Of course, dumbass – do you really think she'd given me a numb arm?!", he asked with a disbelieving expression and shook his head with a chuckle. All Ed could do was stare down at the hand again, with a blend of disbelieve and awe.

"She really grew you a fucking arm...", he muttered disbelievingly.

How the hell did she do it? How did she create an entire arm from scratch? For all he knew, this kind of thing could only be achieved with a Philosopher's Stone – but she didn't have access to one, did she?

"Yeah – she's amazing, isn't she?"

"Huh?" Ed looked up at the blonde in confusion, a bit startled by his statement. But then he lowered his gaze to the wiggling fingers with the strange complexion again, a frown involuntarily appearing on his face. "Suppose I can't deny that now, can I?…"

* * *

The next few days' training sessions were rather awkward. They had taught each other for five weeks already, but Sakura still refused to call him by his first name. In a phase of pure frustration, he had started to call her _'Haruno'_ during their 2nd week – in a pathetic attempt to give her a taste of her own medicine. But as he had to realize grudgingly: she didn't give a shit…

This woman was a rather tough nut. Of course he'd known that already, but he hadn't been aware she'd be spiky as well. He was definitely dealing with a chestnut rather than a walnut, so he better treated her with protection gloves…

The problem was, he had to stick to this idiotic scheme from then on, or else he'd loose his face – and she hadn't been thinking too highly of him in the first place. Though he had tried his best to keep his temper under control and act at least less self-confident in her presence, he still managed to annoy her on a regular basis. The fact that he also really made an effort to be nice to her, obviously couldn't gain her goodwill either...

Sometimes he hadn't even the slightest fucking clue what her problem was in the fist place! It made working with her not only physically exhausting, but also emotionally – which put his already strained nerves to an acid test whenever they met.

And there was also the fact, that he still needed to ask her about Naruto's arm. If she had indeed used a fucking Philosopher's Stone, he needed to know where she got it from.

He was pretty sure that her ethical code wouldn't allow her to use one, if she knew what it was made from – let alone make one herself – so he could at least rule that out. But it was hard to find the right moment to ask her such a delicate question. He wasn't looking forward to her next annoying rant about his lack of tact and he didn't intend to play into her hands. The timing needed to be carefully considered.

He was definitely not _scared_ of her reaction. It merely took him some time to decide when to strike best!

It was a Friday – the second day of her part of the training sessions that week – and she had vented her frustration out on him already, when he finally addressed the subject. She had just told him to call it a day and was gathering her belongings, which were littered all over the clearing.

Letting her chase him over the training field, had definitely lifted her mood, if the wicked grin on her face was any indication. He was glad it had worked out as planned. Had she figured his scheme out, he'd probably have provoked the opposite…

"Naruto told me about his arm the other day", he started carefully and kept a close eye on her, while she gathered the damned kunais she'd tossed his way. Only the fact that she hesitated a moment in her step, betrayed, that she'd heard him.

No snippy comment. No barked reply. Nothing.

"He also told me that you _made_ it for him", he tried again, insistently. But again she didn't acknowledge his statement with even a glance and concentrated on her weapons instead.

He tried his best to remain calm, while he watched how she tested their sharpness with a careful skim of her finger and put those meeting her requirements back into her pouch. But when she began to sharpen the two others without any hurry, he struggled to contain a growl.

Ed's palms already ached from the nails biting into their flesh. His fists shook in anger, but somehow he still managed to at least keep his voice at a normal level when he addressed her once more.

"How did you _do_ it?", he spat out between gritted teeth, furious about the woman's casual disregard of not only the fact that he'd been _talking_ to her, but apparently his _whole_ _person_. How could she have the audacity to get worked up over _his_ fucking behavior? – he'd never been as downright rude as she was in that moment!

"Why should I tell you?", she countered in a harsh tone and lifted her eyes from her weapons to pierce him with one of her narrow eyed glares. But the eye contact was only short-lived, as she almost immediately lowered her gaze to her fucking kunais again, as if she didn't want to spend more of her precious time on him, than absolutely necessary

The message was clear: _'my weapons are more important than you and your annoying questions, idiot!'_

Gritting his teeth in anger, he rushed to her side and closed his palm around the edge of her weapon before he even knew what he was doing. At least he managed to keep her from treating her fucking kunais with the fucking whetstone _any fucking further._

"Because, it is _important_ ", he informed her curtly, trying his best to swallow his anger and calm down again. She stared a moment at his already bleeding hand, before she looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows and huffed.

"Do you really think that behavior will make me talk?!", she asked indignantly and wrinkled her nose.

And that was exactly the moment he hit his boiling point.

"I have _no fucking idea_ how to make you talk!", he suddenly heard himself shouting, "How could I? You're giving me no damn _chance_ to get to know you! For some fucking reason you seem to think that you have to work _against_ me! I don't know if you didn't realize it, or if you just don't give a shit, but I tried really hard to treat you with respect – not to act like a know-it-all – for the last few weeks! I have no fucking idea what else I can do, but fucking _tell_ me, because I'm at my wit's _end_! – Fucking tell me and I'll _try!_ _Okay!?_ "

He only really realized what he'd said, when he saw her big green eyes staring at him totally bewildered. Her lips were slightly parted, describing a disbelieving little _'oh',_ and somewhere in the back of his mind he had to admit that she looked rather enticing like that.

"I really want this to work, you know?", he explained a lot softer than before and sighed heavily. When she only kept staring at him like he'd just grown a fucking horn on his forehead or something, he cleared his throat awkwardly and finally let go of her weapon.

He hadn't even realized that he'd held it the whole time. "I'll clean that for you", he offered sheepishly and held his unharmed palm out, to keep from staining it any further.

She blinked a few times before her eyes darted to his outstretched and still waiting hand, probably contemplating if it was wise to hand her self-proclaimed enemy a weapon. But finally she placed the kunai in his palm with a hesitant movement, worrying her lip while she did so.

He was aware that she constantly kept her eyes glued to him and felt a bit awkward while he quickly wiped the blood off the metal with a piece of cotton he had ripped off of his shirt. He could reattach the part later anyway.

When he had cleaned it as thoroughly as possible, he strode to his coat – which still lay at the root of a tree, where he'd placed it before they started their sparring session – to retrieve the tiny oil flask he always carried with him. He poured a few drops on the metal and began to polish it with the part of fabric, that had been spared from his blood so far.

"Why do you carry oil in your pocket?", Sakura's voice suddenly interrupted his workflow and he looked up at her, a bit startled by the fact that she was standing right beside him again. Her expression seemed genuinely curious and he held her glance thoughtfully, contemplating to tell her the truth for a moment, but decided against it in the end.

"No specific reason – its just a useful means", he told her with a shrug, but only when he had already averted his gaze to her kunai again. Even if it was none of her fucking business, he couldn't bring himself to lie to her face…

"Here", he muttered and handed her the weapon back, when it was clean from his blood again and reflected the light of the setting sun on its polished surface almost like a fucking mirror. She accepted it without a word and tucked it back into her hip pouch, not even bothering to inspect it.

That just _had_ to be a good sign. _Oh_ please _, let this be a good sign!_

When she stretched her hand out however, he was admittedly a bit baffled and could only stare at it in confusion. Did she honestly believe he'd been dumb enough to snare one of her kunais and expected him to hand it out now?

"Haruno, I don't know what-"

"Give me your hand!", she interrupted him unceremoniously in what he'd call a soft commanding tone. When he hesitantly moved to lay his unharmed hand into hers – which would've been a rather awkward position, considering that she'd offered her right and he'd have accepted it with his left – she vigorously shook her head. "The other one."

He only blinked at her in confusion. "I'd stain your hand – it's still bleeding."

"That's exactly why I want to see it – I'm a medic, remember?", she reminded him with a lopsided grin and gestured him to just hurry the fuck up. Still a bit unsure, he placed the bleeding hand into her outstretched one. He expected it to be inspected and prodded by her, but all she did was lay her other hand above it and suddenly a tingling sensation spread from his palm outwards, only subsiding when it reached about the middle of his forearm.

It reminded him a lot of when she had looked at his shoulder that first week, but it was not completely the same; it was warmer and tickled a bit.

When he blinked again, she was already letting go of his hand and the skin was healed completely, where the cut had been. Inspecting it carefully, he had to admit that her healing jutsu worked even better than the healing alchemy May had taught him.

Sweet.

He lifted his head again to give her a small smile, when he realized that she'd stepped even closer and took in a startled breath.

"I'm sorry for invading your private space, but I still have to compensate for some of the punches I landed", she explained and grabbed his chin the next moment, to tilt his head to the right and provide a better view at his throbbing cheek. Again she placed her palm above it and his skin began to tingle strangely before he noted how the ache slowly subsided.

"You were obviously quite distracted today."

He inhaled sharply, afraid he'd been seen through. "I was… thinking about how to address the subject of Naruto's arm", he told her hesitantly – which wasn't exactly a lie.

"Why are you so damned interested in it?", she asked in an annoyed tone, trying to conceal the suspicion in her voice, but failing miserably. Her green eyes were examining him closely, while her slightly furrowed eyebrows formed the tiny crinkle again, that always drew his attention to the mark on her forehead.

" _Because_ -", he started with a deep sigh, and grabbed the wrist of her hand to finally draw it away from his cheek; the warm feeling of her soft palm on his cheek had been fucking distracting. "-the only way _I_ know to accomplish something like that, is forbidden and very _dangerous!",_ he continued in a grave tone and glared at her sternly, "I need to know that you found another way! I need to know that you didn't use a Philosopher's Stone!"

Her furrowed brows changed their position and were lifted instead. "What the hell is a Philosopher's Stone?", she asked in confusion and shook her head, "I didn't use any of your fancy stones – I grew it in a lab at the hospital!"

"You really _grew_ it? With cells and all?", he inquired insistently and when she only replied with an annoyed nod, he added, just for good measure, "There was nothing else involved – no red stones at all?"

"No stones – you damn moron!", she barked and ripped her wrist free from his grip to put her hands on her hips, "Why would I use a _stone_ to make an arm anyway? – that doesn't even make _sense_!"

He exhaled with a relieved chuckle. He was so glad he could have _kissed_ her in that moment – hadn't he been sure, he'd only receive another right hook for such a move; and she had just healed the last one…

Only when all the fucking tension left his body suddenly, he finally realized how much the thought, that she could've used a Philosopher's Stone had bothered him, and he slumped down against the tree with a heavy sigh.

"Will you just tell me already what this stone business is about?", Sakura demanded and crossed the arms in front of her chest, while one of her feet tapped impatiently in the floor.

He looked up at her between his fringes and captured her gaze for a few moments before he heaved a sigh. Rubbing one of his hand wearily over his face, he gestured her to sit down beside him. Though he had absolutely no idea what exactly he'd tell her, this may become a rather long story.

A glance at his pocket watch – a simple piece he'd transmuted out of a few parts he'd had left from his automail arm and a few other components – showed him that he'd still about one and a half hours until he'd have to be at _'The Spinning Shuriken'_ – which should be enough time to give her the outlines.

When Sakura had made herself comfortable beside him and proceeded to staring at him expectantly, he heaved another sigh and began to explain.

"There are several Alchemic practices that are commonly frowned upon, but only one that is absolutely forbidden: human transmutation", he told her and kept a close eye on her to recognize any possible reaction of her immediately. Her brows furrowed in suspicion, but other than that her eyes were still staring at him questioningly.

"As you probably already suspect – the name gives a fucking big hint after all – it has to do with transmuting humans."

"And what has this to do with this fancy stone you were talking about?", she inquired impatiently.

"Philosopher Stones are made with human transmutation", he explained and tried to ignore the fact that she seemed to have other places to be. She'd wanted to know about the stones after all – now she'd have to hear him out, damnit!

"So this stone is made out of a living human being?", she asked incredulously, her body tensing all of a sudden. She was probably just as disgusted by that thought, as he and Alphonse had been when they found out. When he reluctantly shook his head, she relaxed again, probably thinking that she'd just jumped to conclusions. Too bad that he'd have to disappoint her.

"One human isn't even nearly enough to make a stone", he explained quietly and allowed the information to sink in. First her eyebrows furrowed in disbelieve, then he watched her eyes frantically jumping back and forth between his two, as if she hoped he'd just told her a remarkably sick joke and was waiting for the moment he'd come out with it. But when she finally accepted that he'd really meant it, she grit her teeth and stared to the ground in front of her crossed legs.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a steadying breath, before he continued. It wasn't as if he enjoyed telling her about such terrible practices – but he needed to tell her, on the off chance that she ever happened to get her hands onto such a stone.

"The ones I've seen needed hundreds of sacrifices", he whispered and needed to swallow hard, to wet his suddenly fucking dry throat before he continued, "One creation even extinguished a whole population..."

"Did you use them?", she asked in a stern voice, but refused to look up at him, still staring at the ground instead. Her hands were balled to fists and shook on the knees they were resting on – probably in anger.

Anger was a good emotions. He could relate to anger. He could work with anger.

"No", he answered calmly, not at all offended that she'd even thought so for a second – she knew him just as well as he knew her: not at all. Of course she would consider it possible!

"Al and I wanted to and we were looking for one. A Philosopher's Stone allows the Alchemist using it, to ignore the law of equivalent exchange. It supplies whatever is needed for the transmutation – seemingly without sacrificing a fucking thing. But of course that is not true. When we realized what they were made of we couldn't do it", he admitted softly. "Do you understand now why I needed to know if you used one?"

"I would never use such a disgusting thing!", she shouted and suddenly lifted her head again, to regard him with an icy glare. Her eyebrows were furrowed in anger and he had obviously managed to draw it on himself.

He was a fucking moron…

"Of course not – I never thought that!", he immediately amended and lifted his hands in surrender, "I just thought that maybe you got your hands on one and managed to work it somehow – without either knowing what the fuck you were doing exactly, nor where the damn stone came from."

"No. No stone. Just the notes of a criminal, quite some experimentation on my part and a lot of time", she explained in a much calmer voice and sighed. "Is there more of such sick alchemy where you come from?"

"..."

"Well?", she inquired more insistently and cocked an eyebrow at him. And again he couldn't help but sigh heavily.

This was getting old…

"… Human transmutation can also be used for other things", he started reluctantly, but bit on his lip when he wasn't sure how to continue. He didn't want to tell her…

Sure – he'd been a kid then, but he'd _known_ that it was _forbidden_ – for fucks sake! He'd just been too fucking _full_ of himself, to doubt the success of his plan for even a second. Hell – he hadn't even listened to Al of all people; Al who'd _tried_ to talk him out of it – damn it!

"Yes. And that would be…?", Sakura inquired and her still cocked eyebrow twitched, as if she wanted to lay emphasis on it, while her pretty green eyes were watching him impatiently.

He sighed again and swiped his hand wearily over his face once more, before he continued. Was it possible to age for years just because of a fucking conversation? Well – he definitely felt like it…

"It was also used in some sick experiments of the government to create soldiers with inhuman abilities – to create chimerae", he explained in a low voice and stared at the ground, as he wouldn't have been able to look at her surely judgmental face.

He knew that those practices were the fucking _worst_ , but still… there were also so many innocent, hard working people in Amestris who didn't even have the slightest clue of what the military'd done behind their backs. It wasn't right to judge them for the mistakes of a handful of sick fuckers.

"That's not all, is it?", she inquired carefully, her voice soft all of a sudden; as if she knew that this was a touchy subject for him.

"Some have also tried to resurrect the dead with human transmutation."

They sat in silence for a few moments, neither of them daring to say a word. Sakura probably suspected that he wouldn't want to hear what she thought about his country now, and he couldn't think of anything to relieve the tension between them either so he preferred the silence instead.

"We know a jutsu for that as well – but it is forbidden too", Sakura's voice suddenly startled him and he looked up at her in surprise. The conversation had visibly worn her out, but there was a small smile on her face and her expression seemed almost sympathetic. "And we also had our problem with sick fucks who thought it was a good idea to experiment on people – often children. Our countries are obviously both pretty fucked up, hm?"

He just stared at her incredulously for a few moments, but when she only blinked at him expectantly all tension suddenly washed away from him and all he could do was laugh. He knew this was the worst fucking way he could've reacted and that he needed to stop, but once he'd started, he just couldn't bring himself to calm down again.

But contrary to his expectations, Sakura suddenly joined in and they ended up rolling on the ground, holding their bellies and laughing until they couldn't anymore.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. Your reaction probably threw me a bit off the track – I'm just glad you didn't act all fucking judgmental...", he admitted after a while, when they were lying on their backs and looking past the tree crown at the gradually darkening sky.

"There's nothing you need to be sorry for. I was laughing too – and it was quite liberating", she chuckled and he turned his head to take a look at her. She probably had seen him moving, or maybe she merely felt his gaze on her, because she turned hers as well in that moment and gave him a small smile.

He was a bit baffled by that unexpected reaction – he'd already feared she'd jell at him for staring at her or something like that. All he could muster to do in that moment, was smile in return.

" _I'm_ sorry", she said slowly and she bit sheepishly on her lip for a moment before she continued, "I made this whole arrangement a lot harder than it needs to be. I'm sorry I was so hard on you – can we just – I don't know – start over again?" Suddenly she stretched her arm out to him, which looked a bit strange as they were both still lying on the ground. "I'm Haruno Sakura – nice to meet you!"

He found it a bit weird to literally start over again like that, but didn't hesitate and shook her hand with a grin. "Im Edward Elric – but _please_ , call me Ed!", he chuckled and hoped that she would finally, finally at least call him by his first name.

"Ed it is then", she replied with a lopsided grin and tilted her head thoughtfully. "But only if you call me Sakura!"

* * *

 **AN:** Hey guys – I hope you liked the chapter, despite the many jumps this time. Naruto, Sai and Kiba had their first appearances and I hope you're okay with how I pictured them ^^'

Thanks to **imaginesakura, AdrienVictus, , Guest, Enbi** and **Batang May Scolio** for their nice and motivating reviews to the last chapter – I really appreciate it that you took the time to leave me a few (or not so few) words ;)

at **Guest:** I'm glad you liked Sakuras POV – and I like the bantering between her and Ed too ;) actually that's one of the reasons why I think they'd fit quite well as a couple. The relationship between Sakura and Kakashi will become more important in some of the next chapters – but not too important ^^' Sasuke will of course also make an appearance later on, but – as you already explained: he's not good for Sakura, because he never really gave a fuck about her and she really deserves better… (I really don't like the guy, sorry…)

I hope some of you will leave me a few words again ;)  
Thanks for reading!

~ Orange


	5. How To Save A Life

_..._

 _"You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness."_

— _Jonathan Safran Foer_

* * *

 **Lesson 5: How to save a life**

He'd been living in Konohagakure for a bit over three months now. The shifts at the _'Spinning Shuriken'_ had become just as much a part of his life as the training sessions with Sakura – which had fortunately turned less challenging in hand to hand combat. She seemed to take him more seriously now and had started to practice chakra control with him, cutting down the time they'd spent sparring.

Ed was amazed how much she knew about the theory behind everything she talked about, as he'd considered her more as the practical type (with her tendency to get violent and shit). But in fact they were obviously more alike than he'd thought, as she must have practically soaked every information he'd ever got her hands on up like a sponge, if the detailed background information she provided him with, was anything to go by.

So far there hadn't been a question she hadn't been able to answer.

Not one.

And, to be frank, he was pretty thankful for her extensive knowledge. It had only been his second day in Konoha, when he'd entered the library the first time. He'd been relieved to see that it held at least three times the books of the one he'd seen in Suna – at first. But soon he'd realized, that only a fraction was accessible for _'civilians'_.

Never before had he felt so fucking _insulted_ by that damn term…

And of _course_ he wasn't able to find any ninja or chakra related writings in the public area – only a ton of fucking _novels_ and some specialist books on different science branches he was already quite familiar with. Not exactly helpful, that…

But even though Sakura shared her vast knowledge from basics like the chakra circulatory system and the elemental types to the _'hows'_ and _'whys'_ of chakra control, he'd so far not shown any accomplishments. She kept telling him, that it was totally normal and nobody managed to mold and control their chakra within only a few weeks, but he had absolutely no desire to spend the next year _s_ (emphasis on the _'s_ '!) on this shit!

So it was hardly surprising that he used pretty much every waking hour he had to spare with practicing – which is why he was currently in the woods near the training ground they usually frequented and meditated with a fucking leaf on his forehead – on his free day no less!

'Cause according to Sakura, this part was crucial. Without concentration, no molding of the physical and spiritual energies and therefore no chakra he could try to control; he wouldn't be able to perform jutsus _at all_ – so he was at least pretty motivated to nail it soon, if nothing else…

Motivation alone wouldn't help him to walk up a fucking tree though.

Sakura on the other hand was getting better and better in grasping the concepts of different alchemical theories and array composition. It hadn't been long after their _'new-start'_ , when he had allowed her to activate her first self-drawn array. It had just been a basic one – a simple shape modification – actually even one of the first he and Al had tried when they were kids, just in another form. The resulting kunai had looked a bit dented, but it was definitely recognizable as a dagger.

Of course he had pointed whatever little mistakes she had made out – he wanted her to improve her skills after all! – but he'd also commended on her first transmutation. Until only a few weeks ago, she hadn't even _known_ of alchemy and now she was successfully _performing_ it; he had to admit that he was indeed kind of proud. (Of course he didn't tell her that – she probably would've killed him…)

Though their relationship had turned much friendlier after their patching up, she was still somehow distant. As his evenings and nights were mostly spent at the _'Spinning Shuriken'_ , he had asked her once, if she'd like to have breakfast with him – just for casual conversation; he was a bit curios how she liked to spend her free time – but she'd declined politely. Only a moment of hesitation had indicated, that she'd at least given it a thought.

For about a fucking second or two…

Only when he accidentally ran into her at one of the tea-houses near the training ground a few days later, he had started to suspect another reason for her rejection, than the simple fact that she didn't want to spend more time with him, than absolutely necessary.

The thing was: she wasn't alone when he spotted her sitting at one of the tables by the windows, eating what seemed to be miso soup. There was a man with her.

A man that suspiciously looked like the Hokage…

Ed wasn't really sure what to think about that, as Sakura was only a friend of him – at the very best; on a particularly good day; when the sun was shining and he'd managed to keep every last sarcastic comment to himself. It wasn't as if he'd been jealous or angry that she favored Mask-guy's company over his – hell no, he could relate to that! He was rather _worried_ though.

He'd heard a thing or two about the Hokage, nothing of which making it easier to accept the thought of the two of them actually being a couple. Hell – the man had been at the pub a few times and he'd _never_ failed to hit on Ed at least once, and none too subtile either. He didn't want to know who else he flirted with on a regular basis…

The first time he spotted him in the _'Spinning Shuriken'_ he'd groaned in frustration, already aware that this would probably end rather embarrassing for him. When he approached the table to take their orders, he'd been shamelessly inspected by the man and only barely been able to swallow the comment that had been on the tip of his tongue.

"Edward – you're working here?", Mask-guy had greeted him with this pleasantly deep voice of his, forcing Ed to suppress a visible shiver at the sound of it, while his emotions made a one-eighty and went from rather annoyed to helplessly attracted. It was so fucking unfair how some people even _sounded_ sexy…

"Well obviously…"

"Hmmm, a pretty good reason to come here more often then... Would you get us three bottles of sake?", he'd asked kindly and tilted his head to the side questioningly, as if Ed would've had a choice. Seriously – did the guy really have to act all charming and shit?!

From that night on, Mask-man always let casual compliments slip, a prime example being, that he _appreciated_ Ed's clever fingers – which had been delivered with such an intense gaze of this one annoying eye, that it was pretty clear, the statement hadn't only been referring to Ed's ability of catching glasses in free fall, before they hit the ground.

The guy also had the irritating habit to take whatever he served to him or his friends (if he was in company) off of his hands, more often than not lingering a bit longer than completely necessary, while their fingers brushed – and fucking _always_ maintaining eye contact while doing so – it was driving Ed insane!

He'd been quite sure he was imagining things – that was until that one night Mask-guy and his friends had stayed until closing time. Ed had politely pointed out, that they would've liked to clear the pub up to finally call it a day and the men had one by one stumbled towards the exit well-mannered.

No, that wasn't entirely true: all _but_ one made it to the exit; Mask-guy had stayed behind of course, to give Ed's cardiovascular system a hard time…

"How long do you usually need to clean up?", he'd asked him with a certain gleam in his eye that already bordered on predatory. It should have been illegal to look at someone like that – how Ed managed not to let himself be baited was beyond him, now that he looked back upon it…

"Depends on the cooperation of the customers – usually 10 to 50 minutes", Ed had told him with the most casual voice he could manage and added a shrug for good measure. The man wouldn't really suggest what his traitorous mind tried to make him believe?!

"How long _tonight_? If you're not too tired already, we could still have a good time...", he'd proposed and the suggestive once-over he gave him, hadn't went unnoticed by Ed; and all he – the fucking _moron_ he was – had been able to do was _stare_ at the man in disbelieve.

When that only conjured what he'd interpret as a _smirk_ (he could only guess – thanks to that fucking mask! – and consider shapes according to the shadows dancing over its fabric) onto the man's face, he'd felt the need to swallow a few times. His fucking throat was suddenly dry like the eastern desert, the damn traitor!

As his body had obviously decided to work against him, it was all the more important to keep at least his conscious moves as inconspicuous as possible.

"Not long, but I'm rather tired and I've got an appointment at 8am – as you well know. I wouldn't like to give Sakura any more ammunition against me – and me dozing off during one of her lessons would be a pretty good reason to hit me; and she has a nasty right hook…", he'd rambled a bit sheepishly, inwardly cursing himself for rejecting such an offer; but this was the _Hokage_ – Sakura's former _Sensei_ , as Naruto had already told him – a _public figure_ no less, and (unfortunately) not someone he could afford to mess with! "Not that she needs any fucking _reason_ to hit me. But I'd rather not ask for trouble."

He had to admit, he wasn't completely sure if Mask-man _seriously_ made moves on him, or if he just wanted to mock him; he couldn't completely rule the possibility out, that he'd been a bit too transparent when he met the Hokage for the first time. If he'd had even just the _tiniest_ evidence for the man's sincerity – he'd probably accepted at least one of the offers he'd received from him over time…

So it was hardly surprising that Ed found the thought of Mask-guy dating Sakura a _bit_ disconcerting when he stumbled upon them in the tea-house. He had just ordered his food and tea to go and hurried the hell out of the door before the ninja-woman could have recognized him. But he'd been curious enough to try the same establishment again the next day and just as he'd expected, he found both of them sitting in exactly the same spot again.

He'd frequented the tea-house often enough to ascertain, that they were actually meeting _every fucking day;_ but so far he'd refused to make his presence known and had either taken his breakfast with him or devoured it hidden in a corner.

Whenever he decided on the latter, he couldn't help but sneak a peek at them every once in a while. But not once he found them in a position that could have outed them as lovers; there wasn't even a casual touching of hands or something that could have been – even remotely – interpreted as a yearning glance.

Hell – the gazes he had given _him_ most of the nights were pornographic in comparison…

He couldn't help but think these regular meetings for breakfast odd, if they weren't a fucking couple – which they were quite obviously not. Even if they were friends – which was probably the case, as they had a history together – there was too much routine there and they were talking too much for a simple conversation between simple buddies.

It was at the same time strangely intimate and alarmingly _business_.

Even at the risk of sounding like an egocentric jerk, he couldn't fail to notice, that such regular breakfasts would have been the perfect opportunity to share information – possibly about _him_.

And oddly enough, his fucking appetite had been gone after that thought first crossed his mind…

He did not frequent that particular tea-house again after this epiphany moment. To be honest, he couldn't get used to the food served as breakfast in this part of the world anyway and that he'd even stumbled into that establishment had just been a case of a succession of coincidences.

Dropping the last eggs in his drowsy state briefly after waking, he had not been able to eat his usual breakfast and was forced to go out and get something else – which is how he had ended up in that fucking tea-house.

And he didn't even like those!

There was a fucking _tremendous_ lack of sweet dishes in the East and the total absence of coffee didn't make his mornings any easier. How he'd managed to always be on time after that first day, without a suitable amount of caffein running his system, was beyond him – especially if he considered that he usually flipped himself some pancakes, which also took some time.

Fuck – how often had he wished, he'd asked Gracia for her apple pie recipe, in the past year…

Groaning in irritation he ripped the stupid leaf from his forehead and glared furiously at it, as if it had called him _'short'_. How the hell could he believe a fucking _leaf_ would help him to concentrate anyway?

With an annoyed huff he flicked it away and stared angrily at the canopy above him. The leaves brown leaves were already starting to lifelessly sail to the ground one by one and become nutrient for the trees they'd been once part of.

All is one – one is all.

At least _some_ things never changed – no matter where he ended up...

With a sigh he rubbed his left palm tiredly over his face, before he scrambled to his feet. He'd been trying to get the hang of this chakra stuff for three months now.

 _Three fucking months!_

And he _still_ had nothing to show! Hell – he didn't even know if he at least managed to mold the fucking shit, as he couldn't control and use it in any way yet! For all he knew he could already have filled his reserves to the brim and he had no fucking idea, because for some inane reason one couldn't sense their own chakra...

Growling angrily about his own incompetence he childishly kicked a few leaves up with his boots and imbedded his fist in a nearby tree trunk.

But when he pulled his hand back, he could only blink in confusion.

There was a gaping hole in the bark now, exactly here his angry fist had been – but he couldn't have caused such a damage with the simple force of one punch – not since he had his flesh-and-blood arm back!

Running his fingers curiously over the hole's edges, he inspected the trunk more closely. The outer layer had been ripped, but the ones beneath seemed to have simply been smashed by the force...

Concluding that such a hard blow must have had an impact in his hand as well, he examined his knuckles in confusion – but just as his nervous system had already told him: there had no visible harm been done. There wasn't even a fucking scratch!

A sudden shuffling of leaves in the distance distracted him from further investigations though. The irregular led to the conclusion, that whatever it was, was wounded and already struggling to remain on its feet at all, but stubbornly stumbling further – probably looking for a hiding place.

Grinning to himself, Ed started to follow the sounds. He hadn't had a proper self-cooked meal in ages and was hoping to kill two birds with one stone: on the one hand he would put the animal out of its misery, on the other, he'd obtain some meat once again. Maybe he'd cook stew with it and invite Naruto and Kiba over if they weren't out on a mission – they had seemed quite interested when he told them that the Amestrian dishes, were totally different from the ones they knew…

At least Naruto would probably be there, as he'd told Ed, that Mask-man was already training him to fulfill the duties he'd have to attend to, when he took the title of _'Hokage'_ over. The guy kept him mostly in Konoha for that reason, at least if the assignment didn't particularly require the blonde's involvement.

When he neared the sounds of shuffling leaves, Ed held his kunai ready to toss, but just when he stepped out from the tree he'd been hiding behind, another kunai darted his way and he had just enough time to dodge it, before it would have impaled his right shoulder.

"Fuck!"

Lunging behind a tree trunk again as fast as possible, had been a wise decision, because that first kunai didn't remain the only one coming his way and whoever the guy was who tossed them, had a more accurate aim, than Ed was comfortable with…

Of course he could have created an earth wall as it would have been his first reaction in another place. But since he'd crossed the Xingian border to Wind country, he'd made a point of avoiding the use of too impressive transmutations. To people here, Alchemy was mostly unknown and he could never predict how they'd react if he suddenly grew walls and huge hands out of ground.

"Fucking shit – would you stop that?", he shouted out from his hiding place and felt his anger rise. Why was the fucker attacking him anyway? He couldn't be sure of Ed's intentions! Hell – if he'd been any other guy, the first kunai had probably hit home!

Such behavior was fucking _reckless_!

Ed could hear the blood rushing in his ears and the adrenaline driven, accelerated beat of his heart pounding in his throat – which, granted, was fucking familiar; but that wasn't to say it reassured him in any way…

"I know you're wounded!", he pointed out and tried to peek around the bark of the tree to his opponent, but immediately flinched back, when another kunai darted his way.

Could this guy see through fucking walls? "I can help you to the hospital if you let me!", he offered while his heartbeat slowly calmed down again. He knew he could overpower this clown if he needed to – he was quite resourceful and everything but helpless after all. But it would be less tiring if he could get the guy to cooperate. If nothing else it would at least reduce the stress level of both of them quite a bit...

"Nice try asshole!", the other one spat and the tone of his voice was all Ed needed to confirm his suspicion, that the guy was wounded. "Why'd you keep– your kunai ready– if you just– wanted to _help_?"

Ed couldn't suppress a sigh and smacked his palm against his forehead, annoyed by his own stupidity. "I thought you were an animal – easy prey", he admitted sheepishly, "I didn't think to look for your chakra, as I could easily follow the shuffling your steps caused! Should have probably done it anyway though, I get that now..."

He just heard a grunt from the other man – if to signalize he'd heard him or just because he was in so much pain, Ed couldn't exactly tell.

"Okay listen: If I step out with my hands up and the kunai tucked back into my coat – would you let me take a look at your wounds?", he offered again, his voice calm and honest, "I really just want to help you!"

"What if I'm– the enemy– you don't even– know if I'm from– Konoha!", the guy grunted, his tone betraying the pain he had to be in, "And who the fuck– are you– anyway?– You're not wearing– a forehead protector..."

This fucking conversation was getting nowhere! If they didn't hurry up, the clown would loose consciousness soon anyway, if the way he panted after every other word was anything to go by. Time was important now and could possibly decide over life and death in this situation.

"You're fucking _injured_ , idiot! Do you really think this is the right moment to be picky about the people you accept help from?!", Ed asked incredulously and shook his head in disbelieve, before he quickly slipped the kunai into his coat pocket and lifted his hands, allowing them to protrude from his hiding place. "I'm unarmed now, see?", he pointed out and wiggled his fingers for emphasis, "Now don't be an idiot and let me help you!"

Again he heard only a grunt, but the fact that no further kunai was aimed his way, allowed the conclusion that it had been affirmative and he stepped out behind the tree without wasting any more time – hands posed to clap, if he needed to.

But he didn't.

When he saw the man sitting slumped against a trunk nearby, he knew he couldn't have had much more energy in him. The way he was pressing his hand against his abdomen was quite telling as well. It was wrapped in bandages just like Naruto's, but already soaked with his blood, which just added to the hint the guy's complexion alone, allowed about the state of his blood volume.

With a few quick strides Ed was beside the man and silently inspected him for other wounds. His dark attire made it a bit difficult to make the bloodstains out, but some of the wounds were obviously still bleeding, if the way the light reflected from some parts of fabric, was anything to go by; some places were definitely wet – and (fortunately for his left thigh) it hadn't rained in a while, so it couldn't have been much else but blood…

Crouching down beside the guy, Ed gently grabbed his chin, lifting his head a bit, to see if there were any cuts in his face as well. He had to brush some of his black hair back to get a better look. The guys eyes were weirdly red, with three black commas swirling around his pupil and Ed had to force his features into a neutral expression to keep from glaring at them too blatantly. He knew first-hand how annoying it was to be stared at, he didn't want to make the man any more uncomfortable than he certainly already was.

"Is that your most severe wound?", he asked when he let go of the guy's face and gestured to the bandaged hand still pressing to his side. From the position it was in, the wound could very well extend to his liver if it was deep enough.

"I wouldn't be– clutching it– like that– if it weren't!", the man hissed in annoyance and shoved Ed a step back with his other hand, before he struggled to get to his feet. "Now stop this– stupid examination– and help– me to the– village!"

"You won't make it if I don't look at that!"

"Are you– a medic?"

"...No."

"Then shut– up and help– me, or get the– fuck out– of my– way!", the guy growled and glared furiously at him with this weird red eyes of his.

Ed only considered him with a grim stare before he took a firm grip on the clowns shoulders and shoved him back down against the tree without hesitation, causing the man to hiss in pain when he hit the ground. This one had obviously received one too many hits to the head, apparently rendering him unable to make reasonable decisions. Maybe he shouldn't have been _that_ hard on the guy…

"Listen buddy – even if I'm not a medic, I can close that fucking wound and keep it from bleeding any further – as well as any other one", he explained impatiently and was sure he would have received at least one punch to the head by then, if the guy would've had enough energy left to do so.

Without wasting any more time asking useless questions, he ripped the stupid poncho the man was wearing open; in this case it came in handy that the clown had barely enough energy to even maintain his piercing glare, otherwise he would probably have put up a fight.

"Don't be frightened – this will probably be unfamiliar to you, but I haven't got the hang of this chakra business yet...", he warned when he had successfully bared the guy's torso. With a last flicker of his eyes to the man's face, Ed confirmed that the guy got the message, before he concentrated on the gaping abdominal wound.

Without further hesitation he clapped his hands and quickly placed his palms above the gash. He could feel the familiar rush of alchemic energy around his fingers and watched in fascination as the much too pale flesh wove itself into one uniform surface again. Relatively satisfied with the result, Ed immediately repeated the process on the guy's shoulder wound and the gash on his throat as well. The clown was really lucky that his attacker had missed his jugular vein, because the cut was about three centimeters deep and fucking close to it…

When Ed looked up to the man's face again after he'd transmuted the poncho back in place, he realized that they probably had less time than he'd thought. The guy obviously had already trouble keeping his eyes open – needless to mention that the fierce glare he had regarded Ed with was of course nonexistent by then.

He immediately heaved the man on his back without further ado – which he received an annoyed grunt for – and sped towards the village as fast as his mismatched feet were able to take him.

"How far have you gone like that?", he asked while he neared the first buildings in the outskirts of Konoha, "Are the guys who did that to you still close?"

He could have had that idea sooner, but to be fair – he'd had other things on his mind. The fucking survival of the red eyed stranger for example. Would've been good to know if he needed to look out for assassins still hot on the guy's heels though.

"...Killed 'em...", the man on his back only groaned in response and Ed felt how his grip on the guy's legs involuntarily tightened. Although he thought it would have been wise to engage the man in a conversation to keep him conscious, he couldn't bring himself to talk to him any further.

Of course he knew that ninjas had another worldview; that they regarded the lives of their opponents as dispensable – at best. But that didn't mean he'd become accustomed to such mindset, let alone that he could comprehend the idea to fight someone with the _intention_ to kill.

He wouldn't be able to look into Al's eyes again, if he ever became like that…

Ed was painfully aware that more and more people were staring at him, the farther he advanced the village and the nearer he came to the hospital; by the time he entered said building he was clenching his jaw in annoyance. But at least the attentive nurses immediately divested him of the – by then – limp body on his back, without any silly questions and hurried to get the guy onto a bed.

Before long Ed also saw a medic run the way the nurses had rolled the man and he finally allowed himself to slump into one of the vacant chairs in the waiting room with a tired sigh.

A little girl on the other end of the room was weeping bitterly, while she and her mother waited for a medic to tend to her wounds. As the hospital personal took longer for that, than Ed thought was acceptable, he tried to ease the girls pain by taking her mind off it with a little transmutation.

After a nurse finally hurried their way to guide mother and daughter to a treatment room, Ed flopped down in his seat again and pondered what he'd write Al. Only a few days before, he'd received the second letter from his brother so far – but he hadn't had the time to write him back yet. He'd planned to do that on his day off, but he hadn't thought he'd end up in a hospital, waiting for information about the killer he saved and brought there…

Ed was pretty curious what Al would respond to that particular news. He'd told him about Sakura in his last letter, when he'd answered his brother's question where he was around and if he'd finally been able to find someone who was willing to teach him jutsus. It had taken him quite an effort not to downright complain about her then, as it'd been at a time when she still refused to call him by his first name…

At least she called him _'Edward'_ most of the time now – he would probably mention that as well in the next letter. Al had told him she'd surely take to him sooner or later if he didn't fuck things up again and of course his brilliant little brother had been right. She at least made a _little_ effort now and her punches were much less furious (most of the time anyway…).

When he heard steps approaching, he lifted his gaze and watched the medic he'd seen earlier heading his way. He came to a halt in front of Ed with a frown on his face.

"You're the one who brought Uchiha-sama here, correct?"

Ed only blinked at the man, a bit confused by the honorific. The stranger had been about his age and he hadn't looked like such an important person… "If that's the name of the guy with the two stab wounds and the gash on his throat – yes, that was me", he answered with a nod. "Why – is there a problem?"

The man's frown deepened before he shook his head in confusion. "All of his wounds were sealed as if he'd already been treated – all we did was attach him to a blood and nutrient infusion", the medic explained, but seemed annoyed, "He will be alright – but can you explain his state? Are you a medic yourself? – Because I'm certain that Uchiha-sama is not – and he _must_ have been treated by _someone_!"

"I'm not, but I know a few healing arrays", he told the man with a shrug, but only earned a dumbfounded look for that statement.

"Healing _arrays_?"

"Yeah – Xingian healing arrays. They developed their own form of alchemy and concentrated on cell regeneration and division and also managed to find a way to enhance the communication between the new tissue and the old one around it", he explained with another shrug.

"...Oookay. Good to know", the man said hesitantly, obviously not sure how to react to such information and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "We already informed Uchiha-sama's former team mates. If you'd wait until they arrive – they'll certainly want to thank you! He'd probably have bled to death without your help!"

Unable to suppress a wince at this prospect he quickly shook his head. "Oh – nonono, that's not necessary! I'll be on my way – just wanted to make sure he'll be alright"

Before the medic could have tried to persuade him to stay, he turned on his heels and quickly strode to the exit. The last thing he needed now, were people thanking him for merely acting like a human being…

When he'd already made it a few streets towards his apartment, he spotted Sakura running his way and greeted her with a smile. But all she did in return was shout a _"Have no time now"_ over her shoulder, without even glancing his way.

He really should start writing a list, containing all the multiple ways she'd been short with him so far. As sensitive as Sakura was to taking his behavior, he would've thought she'd be more thoughtful what she dished out herself.

But that's not how she worked. Not at all. The woman was a hypocrite and he made a mental note to tell her that much.

Soon.

Eventually…

∴∇Δ∇∴

It took a whole fucking hour the next day, until someone (not even a human, but a dog!) had the decency to inform him that Sakura wouldn't show up – as she probably wouldn't the next few days either – and that he should consider the whole week as vacation time. Pakkun had appeared a bit miffed by the situation as well, but if that was because he had an idea why Sakura wouldn't be able to come to their training sessions, or because he had been the one who'd been ordered to tell Ed, he couldn't exactly say.

As he had nothing better to do, he accompanied the pug on his way to the village center and tried to pry some more details about the woman's whereabouts out of him. But the little shit remained persistently uncooperative and had obviously set his mind on relaying only the most useless bits of information, or none at all.

Fuck this! This futile attempts wouldn't have been necessary, if the woman had told him herself, what she'd be up to! After all they had briefly come across each other the day before – but of course Her Highness had only been concerned about whatever the fuck had her hurry so damn fast, and didn't think to inform a lowlife like him about her intentions…

Never mind that her preoccupation meant he'd have to twiddle his thumbs for a whole fucking week now – and it would be even longer than that until his next chakra lesson. Not that he really thought that he'd made any progress this Thursday, but it still pissed him off that she just decided to cancel their appointments without further notice…

This was just fucking _great_!

But fortunately he had still one person he could possibly pry something out of, and as he was aware that Naruto would only head to the Hokage office by ten, he set off into the direction he knew he'd find his apartment.

He'd never been there before – though he'd already been invited several times; but his tight schedule had skillfully nipped such plans in the bud so far. He just hoped he wouldn't miss him just by a few minutes – he wouldn't put it past his luck, as it seemed to get a fucking thorough laugh at his expense that day as it was…

To his relieve the blonde opened the door for him, with a bowl of ramen in one hand and some of them dangling from his mouth, an amused sounding woman's voice chiding him for his manners from somewhere in the background. Naruto was understandably surprised by his visit but gestured him to enter his home nonetheless and gave him a toothy smile as soon as he'd swallowed the load of noodles.

Ed immediately felt a smile spreading on his face as well and was already glad about his decision to see the blonde; his friendly and enthusiastic manner was infectious and it wasn't the first time that he really doubted Sakura's judgement.

Kiba had told him in secret, that Naruto had been in love with her for quite a while (the dog-man insisted it had been more than just as crush) – but she on the other hand had only had eyes for their other team mate: a guy who'd hurt both of them repeatedly, but always got another chance.

Still, none of the two had been inclined to talk about the guy – hell, he hadn't even been able to get his fucking name! To say he was curious about the mystery man would've been an understatement – but asking Kiba for details felt like a betrayal and an intrusion of their privacy, which is why he'd refrained from doing so – so far at least…

"Who was it honey?", came the woman's voice from earlier from the adjoining room – probably the kitchen, if the clattering of dishes Ed could hear, was any indication.

"Just Ed."

"Oh – what did he want?", he heard her ask, but before either of them could have answered, she continued thoughtfully, "I wonder when I'll finally meet him. By the stories you keep telling me, he seem's to be a really interesting man."

He couldn't help but grin, while he watched Naruto grimace and make a wining noise. "Oh – _is that so_?", he asked teasingly, but loud enough that Hinata would hear him too.

He was a bit curious about Naruto's girlfriend as well, to be honest. Who wouldn't have been after hearing all sorts of things about her, like: how capable a Kunoichi she was (and how well endowed) from Kiba; how timid she once had been and how hard she'd worked to overcome all her fears from Lee; how ugly she was from Sai (whatever that comment had been good for – though Ed had realized by then, that the guy usually meant the exact opposite of what he said in such situations; Ino was the exception to that particular rule of course).

Naruto however had mostly talked about her kindness and the fact that she had been one of the very few people, who'd always believed in him – even way back, when most of the village shunned him for the daemon he was carrying in him. That last piece of information had been reason enough for Ed, to feel something like respect for the woman, even if he hadn't met her yet and he'd promised himself to try his best to make a good first impression when they'd be introduced the first time.

This was not exactly how he'd have liked that to happen, but he would work with it now…

"Huh?", was all Ed could hear from the kitchen, before a few determined steps announced Hinata's approach to the living room. She paused in the doorway and examined him unashamedly – which was just fair, because he did exactly the same.

Her dark hair was long and thick and had a silky shine to it. It was flowing like a well of ink down to her waist – which was, if he might add, very feminine and inviting, just as the rest of her figure; Kiba had been right for once… The pale, pupil-less eyes were a bit odd, but as he'd been informed about them in advance, he was fortunately able not to linger long enough that if would have been uncomfortable for her.

What was it with these fucking strange eyes in this village anyway?

"You never mentioned that he's handsome", she finally stated, a teasingly chiding tone in her voice, before she proceeded and crossed the room with a faint smile.

"Hinataaa!", Naruto only wined and clapped his free hand over his eyes in embarrassment, causing Ed to snicker. He had to admit that her first impression of him had him feel stupidly pleased for some fucking reason. Odd feeling, that – and really uncalled for too…

"No one mentioned how beautiful you are either", he returned the compliment smoothly and shrugged casually, but with a huge grin. "Sai said something that led me to that conclusion though – so I was kind of prepared." When Naruto peeked at him from between his fingers, Ed couldn't help but make a show of winking at Hinata, and chuckled when that caused the blond to groan and hide his eyes again.

"Oh – and a charmer too", the woman only laughed and leant against the chair Naruto was sitting on, placing one of her hands casually on his shoulder, before she squeezed it reassuringly. "A man like you surely has a girlfriend then, I assume?"

"Oh – he has plenty of those!", Naruto quickly interjected to stop the conversation short, "Every other day a new one!" Ed wouldn't have put it like that, but he had to admit that he wasn't exactly feeling comfortable with the way this was heading and kind of glad that his friend had called a halt, before he could have said something inappropriate himself…

Apart from the fact that his trust issues were kind of a hindrance, a girlfriend was the last thing he needed now – and If he could trust in one thing, then it was his own ability to fuck things up. Why even bother, if he knew it wouldn't last long anyway?

"...That's a pity", was all Hinata said and by the tone of her voice, she really meant that. He would've believed that she'd referred to the girls he had the sex with, but the way she eyed him thoughtfully, gave him the odd idea that she'd rather meant for _him_ – for some strange reason.

"Yeah, great pity", Naruto grumbled and rolled his eyes before he continued in a slightly irritated voice, "Could we return to the reason why you're here in the first place now? Shouldn't you be on the training field?"

"Well – that's exactly why I'm here", Ed promptly informed him and looked the blonde straight in the eyes, while he rested his chin lazily in his palm. "Sakura has something better to do this week and I'd like to know what. You two are close – did she tell you anything?"

Naruto seemed to think for a moment, staring blankly onto the tabletop between them and chewing on his bottom lip. But instead of answering him, he asked a question in return when he finally looked up again. "What did she tell _you_?"

Ed only gritted his teeth and felt his features set into an annoyed frown. "Nothing!", he spat, "I was already waiting for an hour until Pakkun came running along, informing me that I'd have this week off. He wouldn't tell me anything else – but I think I have a right to know!", he explained rather crossly. "Hell – I spent nearly every fucking day of the past three months with her! She could at least have the decency to inform me prior, if she's got something better to do! I could have slept in, you know?! It's not like I enjoy getting up at the ass crack of dawn!"

Only when he finally closed his mouth, he realized that this rant probably hadn't exactly been the picture he'd intended to paint of himself, but to his relieve Hinata only chuckled, while Naruto lifted his hands in a pacifying gesture.

"Easy buddy – I get that that's shitty", the blonde tried to calm him and sighed heavily before he continued, "I shouldn't be the one to tell you this, but you're right: you deserve to know and I don't think Sakura's willing to make time for that now, so I'll do it – just don't go out talking about it to everybody!" Ed was about to tell him just where to shove that advice, when Naruto hurried to clarify, "I know you're not the type who'd do that, I just wanted to make sure – just in case, you know?"

When Ed hesitantly closed his mouth again and nodded grumpily, Naruto sighed once more and took a brief glance at Hinata, before he began to explain. "Our former teammate's been taken to the hospital yesterday. He was away from the village for quite a while and apparently had been ambushed.

"Fortunately someone found him in time and brought him to the hospital – the guy also patched him up, probably saving Sasuke's life. We were informed by his condition as soon as he'd been admitted, but by the time either of us arrived the guy was already gone – we didn't even have the time to thank him!

"Anyway… Sakura's determined to nurse the idiot back to health – that's probably why she won't have time to train with you this week. I don't really get why it should take that long – yesterday Sasuke's seemed quite fit already – but she probably just wants to make sure he's made a full recovery, before he runs off again…"

Well, this was a piece of information he wouldn't have expected. Wasn't this world small…

With a grin spreading on his lips Ed tilted his still propped head to the side and eyed the blond in front of him expectantly. Naruto was obviously a bit taken aback by his reaction and Ed watched with some amusement, how his confusion grew from second to second. Hinata on the other hand had already put two and two together apparently, as her eyes had widened for a brief moment, before she regarded him with a knowing smile.

"Your former team mate wouldn't have weirdly red eyes with strange little commas swirling around his pupil?", Ed finally took pity on Naruto and gave the man a hint. The blonde's eyes went wide before his mouth opened as well, but not a word escaped him – the scene was so ridiculously hilarious, he would have loved to take a picture of it in Maes Huges' fashion. It took legendary _four_ attempts – which made him look like a fish on land, gasping for air – until Naruto finally managed to ask: _"You?!"_

Ed only nodded with a grin. "Yeah – stumbled upon him yesterday. Thought he was a wounded animal first and intended to make stew of him – I even entertained the idea to invite you by the way. Needless to say I was quite disappointed when I finally approached my prey and a kunai flew my way. Your teammate sure is picky when it comes to the people he allows to come to his rescue – had to talk him into letting me come out of the wood without immediately abusing me as pincushion for his kunais, for what felt hours…

"By the time I finally gave a shit about his cooperation and just approached him, he could barely talk two words without pausing for breath, but still used what little energy he had left to glare daggers at me, while I healed him." Ed chuckled and shook his head at the memory of those angry eyes. "The guy sure is _charming_ ", he said, his voice oozing with irony, before his features darkened a bit. "No wonder Sakura has only ever had eyes for him – they're both such _sunshines_..."

"Oh – now you're unfair", Naruto chided with a frown, "Sakura-chan is nothing but kind! I admit – she can be a bit strict and she's a really nasty right hook, but she's one of the most helpful people I know! Don't compare her to the idiot!"

"If you say so. I haven't seen much of her kind and helpful side so far", Ed told him coolly and shrugged. His eyes scurried briefly to the clock above the doorway to the living room and he got up. "I better go now, you'll be heading to the office soon anyway. Thank's for telling me though – I really appreciate it."

"Thank _you_ for saving the idiot", Naruto told him with his trademark smile and patted Ed thankfully on the shoulder, "You should tell Sakura – maybe she'll finally warm up to you then. I don't really get why she's so buttoned up with you anyway..."

"Probably still the repercussions of the first impression I left", Ed sighed while he headed towards the exit, "I was really kinda rude to her – probably bruised her ego. She won't let that go so easily..."

Naruto gave him a worried look. "Yeah – she really knows how to bear a grudge. But if you tell her it was you who saved Sasuke, she'll surely forgive you!"

"I hope you're right."

"He is. You'll see Ed – whatever it was you did, she'll forgive you", Hinata assured him in a soothing voice. She had followed them to the door and was standing right beside Naruto. "As you don't have to train this week – how about lunch on Wednesday? We tried so often to invite you over – now you don't have an excuse anymore!"

Ed only blinked in surprise, but felt his lips spread into a grin. "Of course – lunch actually sounds _terrific_ ", he told her when he opened the door, "But only if you allow me to return the favor – I'll have lots of time to go hunting this week, so I should be able to make a nice pot of stew. Trust me – you'll like it!"

"We'd love to try it", Naruto told him with a laugh, while Ed stepped out of the apartment, "We can discuss the details on Wednesday at – let's say one o'clock?"

"Deal!", Ed replied and grinned at both ninjas, "Thanks for filling me in – and see you on Wednesday!"

"Bye Ed – and go look for Sakura at the hospital and tell her!"

"Yeah, yeah… I'll do it! – do you have to be so fucking insistent?!"

* * *

 **AN:** hey guys – I hope you liked the chapter, even if it's kind of a step backwards in the relationship between Ed and Sakura. But I can assure you: Naruto and Hinata are right and Sakura will honestly make an effort as soon as she knows Ed was the one who saved Sasuke.

at **Guest** : Yeah – Ed had to work somewhere and as he wouldn't earn enough money with fixing little things here and there, he proabably thought he'd be able to kill two birds with one stone if he started to work at a bar: he'd have to deal with people and learn how to improve his interaction with them AND earn money :) and Ed and Sakura challenge each other – that's definitely not a one way thing. She will probably not make an arm for Ed in the near future (but definitely later) – not now that Sasuke is back -_- but she'll learn her lesson soon.

∴∇Δ∇∴

 **Omake:**

He was glad nobody had asked him anything – he wouldn't have known what to answer anyway. In Amestris, they would probably still drill him with unnecessary questions – so, for once, he was glad to be in the East instead, where people apparently placed more value on quick aid rather than gathering the patient's pedigree three generations back…

About five minutes later, he was a bit annoyed though, that they let a little girl with a burning wound wait so long. She had been sobbing since he'd entered the waiting room, despite her mother's attempts to soothe her. The woman was obviously a bit embarrassed that her daughter was the only one making noises in the room and darted Ed and the other ones present apologetic looks every now and then.

He took a quick glance at the clock and when three more minutes had passed he got up and approached the two. The woman seemed a bit startled and by the uneasy look on her face she probably expected an annoyed rant from him.

The idea that this could have been her first thought when she saw a stranger approaching a crying little girl, made him sad and not only a little bit disappointed by the people the woman had had to deal with so far. Forcing a small smile on his face to signalize his good intentions, he crouched down in front of the girl. She was still sobbing, but her big sky-blue eyes were intently watching him with an almost curious but still tear-dimmed glance.

"Hey little one – I'm Ed. What's your name?

"...Mi-dori", she hiccupped between two sobs and pulled her wounded forearm tighter to her torso, as if she feared he'd touch it and hurt her even more. The poor little thing…

"Midori – that's a beautiful name – very fitting… It's hurting really bad Midori, isn't it? Do you know a trick that always helps when you're hurt?", he asked with a low, soothing voice and noted that not only the girl was listening intently, but also the mother waited expectantly, when the girl had shaken her head _'no_ '. "If you have someone to share it with – someone who is strong enough to take it. Tell me: what's your favorite animal?"

The sobs had died down to about four or five every minute, when she answered without hesitation. "A Fox! Foxes are strong– and beautiful and a fox also saved our village, you know?", she informed him almost without interruption and her formerly pained expression had mostly been replaced by an enthusiastic one.

Ed smiled warmly and nodded. "I see. So your single most favorite animal would be a nine tailed fox then, is that right?", he asked with a wink and after a brief glance to her mother, who gave her daughter's shoulder an encouraging squeeze, the girl nodded quickly.

Inclining his head as well, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled one of the kunais out, but let it dangle from his forefinger to make sure nobody'd be frightened by the move. Ed made a show of placing it to the ground and gestured the girl to look closely, before he clapped his hands and tapped both of his forefingers to the metal.

After the flash of familiar blue light, it melted beneath his skin and bubbled into another form. As he had made sure to change the composition of the surface in such a way, that it would reflect light at another wave length, the resulting object was orange and therefore true to a fox' natural fur color.

When he took a glance at the girl's awestruck expression, his smile spread into a grin and he lifted the little fox figure up and presented it on the palm of his hand.

"...Is that for me?", Midori asked hesitantly but sounded hopeful. She had stopped sobbing a while ago, bud didn't seem to have noticed that yet.

"Of course!", he told her and waited patiently until the girl reached for the figure. While she examined it with curious eyes, her mother mouthed a _'thanks'_ to him which he replied to with a _'no problem'_.


	6. How To Get Into Someone's Good Graces

...

* * *

" _Every true genius is bound to be naive."_

― _Friedrich Schiller_

* * *

 **Lesson 6: How to get into someone's good graces**

"Would you call it a day already?!", Kiba whined and hung to his halfway filled beer mug like a lifeline, his body slumped over the table he was sitting at. He'd been going on Ed's nerves for half an hour already, obviously bored as nobody else had had time to go for a drink with him.

Lee was out of town, on a delivery mission to rain (where he often stayed a little longer than absolutely necessary; Kiba and Naruto suspected he had a girl there, but Lee wouldn't tell them anything and Ed couldn't really blame him for that – they were both nosy bastards and probably annoying as hell if they managed to get some information out of you). Sai preferred to spend his evenings with Ino lately (couldn't really be blamed for that either). And Naruto was probably still stuck at the office still, doing paperwork the Hokage (who'd obviously already called it a day, because he was sitting practically back to back with Kiba currently, waiting for his sake) had dumped on him.

But as Ed – for once – wasn't working the nightshift, he'd clock off at about seven and would be able to keep Dog-man company. He hadn't much else to do anyway and if he was completely honest, he rather enjoyed listening to the latest gossip. It wasn't like the guy managed to surprise him with news often – fuck, he worked at a pub after all, and people _talked_ – but it was the way _how_ he retold the stories he'd been able to pick up since they last saw each other. They were more often than not blown up to the point of ridiculousness and sometimes Kiba even managed to weave himself into the tale in the most inventive ways.

Needless to say that Ed often ended up which aching abs for all the damn laughing Dog-man's silly stories caused.

"Yeah, yeah – just a few minutes okay", Ed assured him in passing, on his way to serve the Hokage and his friends their drinks, just a table away. It were mostly the usual suspects, the only exception being Anko Mitarashi.

He liked the woman for her blatantly snarky comments, but was quite surprised that she was with a group for once, as she usually preferred to drink alone. It was obvious that she generally disliked people. She always started bitching whenever anyone was dumb enough to approach her (at least if they didn't have a drink for her with them). Ed had no idea why she even bothered to consume her sake in a pub, if she just as well could've bought some and drank it at home. But he supposed even a person like Mitarashi needed some kind of company every once in a while.

"Finally – took you long enough goldilocks!", the only woman on the table remarked and practically ripped the bottle of sake out of his hand, when he was about to place it on the table. He only sighed and shook his head with a small smile, already used to that silly nickname – and as he knew that pushing people's buttons just was her way to interact with them, he let it slide without a comment.

When Ed was about to place the next drink on the table, someone grabbed his forearm. He looked up with a scowl – repulsed in the first moment, because why did everyone in this fucking business think it was okay to touch him whenever they fucking pleased?! – but when he found the Hokage watching him with an amused eye he immediately relaxed. Wasn't the first time he'd touched him after all, and he wouldn't go any farther (unfortunately, Ed had to admit) – he knew that from experience.

"Don't let her provoke you – you were swift as always and _please_ don't ever change anything about your hair!", the Hokage almost _purred_. Ed was 85% positive, that the man was indeed just messing with him by then.

After all, he just _couldn't_ really mean it; he was the Hokage, for fucks sake – and Ed was a foreigner. If anything the man just wanted to have a closer eye on him... Unfortunately that fact didn't make it any easier to react to such comments in a calm and collected way.

Why the hell did Ed have a soft spot for men in charge anyway? Was this some sort of Mustang-complex?! Hell – even hundreds of kilometers away from the bastard he still managed to make his life difficult…

Ed could've sworn he heard Kiba growl a "you can't be serious!?" on the table behind them, which he was rather thankful for. It made ignoring Mask-man's statement much easier when he had to concentrate on suppressing a laugh.

"Don't worry – I'm used to that nickname. 's not the wittiest, you know", he told the man with a shrug, but sent a narrow eyed glare to Anko nonetheless.

"Awww – come on, your hairstyle practically _begs_ for it", she snickered, while she poured herself a glass of sake. Ed only rolled his eyes and barely managed to contain a _'you're one to talk!',_ while he placed the last drink on the table.

"What's today's soup?", Genma piped up, thankfully changing the subject, the senbon in the corner of his mouth dancing with every word he said. Knowing he'd like his answer, Ed's lips spread into a grin.

"Your favorite if I recall correctly: pumpkin soup!"

"Did I already tell you that I love you~?", the man asked in a singsong voice and fluttered his eyelashes suggestively. He looked so fucking ridiculous, that Ed was unable to suppress a laugh this time.

"Not today – thought you haven't had enough to drink yet", he answered with a grin. "I guess that means you want some?"

"Hell yes! You know me too well!", Senbon-man informed him with a grin. "Make it an extra large bowl, will you?"

"'course – everything for you Genma~", Ed piped with an exaggerated wink and turned on his heels to make a beeline to the kitchen. After a brief glance at the clock hanging above the bar, he decided to take his own supper with him as well.

When he exited the kitchen a few minutes later, he was balancing three bowls of soup on his arms – one of them being extra large, as requested. He quickly made his way back to Genma, placing the dish in front of the man with a simple _'enjoy!'_ and hurried to the back of the room.

The old man he'd been looking for, a patron and known for his grumpy attitude, was sitting in the same dark spot he usually preferred. Because of his rude way, nobody except Ed was really trying to talk to the guy. It was obvious that he man tried to drown his sorrow in whatever alcoholic drink he could afford – the higher in percentage, the better – and the longer he sat and drank, the grumpier he got.

In the time Ed had been working at the bar now, he'd managed to learn, that the guy had first lost his wife in an attack on the village a couple of years ago, then his only son in the shinobi war a few years later. He'd been devastated when his wife died, but when his son was gone too, he naturally fell into an even deeper depression.

Of course he hadn't been able to coax this information out of the man himself – he'd rather asked around, fortunately finding some of the people he'd had been in contact with _before_ all this happened.

"'m not hungry", the man grumbled when Ed placed a bowl of soup in front of him, "Can't afford it anyway..."

"I think we've been through this often enough that you'd know that this is my treat", he sighed in response. "You need to eat _something_! I know it's not much, but definitely better than nothing."

"Why do you even _care_?!", the man asked in irritation. It was obvious, that he wasn't used to being treated kindly (though they'd been having this conversation for as long as Ed worked in the pub now, and he should've been used to it by then) as he usually managed to keep everyone else at arm's length. His _eyes_ seemed to _scream_ for attention though – at least Ed had that impression and he wondered how it could be that he was obviously the only one answering to that silent plea.

"Because nobody else does", Ed answered him calmly and slid the bowl a bit closer to the man suggestively, "Accept it already. Now eat – before it gets cold!"

Only when the guy finally gave in and raised the soup to his mouth, Ed turned to head to Kiba's table at last. The guy was impatiently drumming his fingers on its surface by then, the mug in his other hand empty already.

"You want another one? I can ge-", Ed started but was rudely shoved to sit down as soon as he'd placed his soup on the table.

"Oh – shut up, I can order something later", Kiba grumbled and gestured him to start eating already. "Why're you working here anyway – I thought you don't like sucking up to people? Isn't this practically a _requirement_ for this job?"

"Depends – Ren's a pretty decent boss", he answered between two gulps of soup, "Doesn't ask me to put up with _all_ the shit that flies my way and most of the time also overlooks my not so polite comebacks, if someone's being an _exceptional_ asshole."

"...Still, couldn't you just – I don't know – repair stuff or anything? I mean you're good with that, right? With this alchemy-thingy you've going on – shouldn't an ability like that be something like a goldmine?"

"Nanana – we'd miss Ed if he'd quit here!", the Hokage suddenly piped up from behind Kiba, causing the dog-man to go rigid in his spot for a moment, "Don't hammer such silly ideas in that handsome head of his!"

"Oh fuck – could you just _stop_ that? I mean, _seriously_ – this is just _wrong_!", Kiba whined and whirled around to eye the guy. The man cocked his eyebrow in a questioning manner, but otherwise didn't react to the statement. "You've both got unfairly long lines of women queuing up to get their hands on you – how can you hit on _him_!? He's a _guy_ – for fuck's sake!"

Ed felt the corners of his mouth curling into a smirk, and if the shadows on the Hokage's mask weren't deceiving him, the man was just as amused by his friends outburst as he was.

This was the kind of reaction, someone who just wasn't used to bi- or homosexuality showed; usually the guys who made a big fuss about the news in the beginning, had no real problem with it as soon as they'd accepted that they couldn't simply _'talk him out of it'_.

He just didn't have a preference gender-wise. Dog-man would learn to deal with that, or start to avoid him – but as far as he assessed the situation, the chances stood 80/20 in Kiba's case. Ed would've _really_ been surprised if he steered clear of him from now on, just because he appreciated men just as much as women…

"Awww, poor Kiba", he crooned, "I always had the impression you were the center of the rumor mill. But apparently you've missed some rather crucial information about me..."

" _What?!_ ", his friend exclaimed, his voice sounding girlishly high-pitched. Kiba's head whipped around to face him with such a shocked expression, Ed couldn't suppress a smirk at how hilarious he looked. "Don't tell me you _really_ make out with guys sometimes!"

"I'm afraid, not telling you won't change the fact that it's true", he only drawled casually, inspecting his nails in a disinterested manner. The bowl of soup had long since been emptied and sat at the edge of the table now, ready to be cleared away. The sharp intake of breath on the other side told him, that this kind of news had probably not been what his friend had hoped for.

"'s that why you won't come to the onsen then?", Kiba asked after a while. Ed lifted his eyes to the guy's face in confusion and only regarded him with an incredulous look when the ryō finally dropped, while Mask-guy snickered behind him in amusement.

Leave it to Kina to direct such a conversation to the fucking bathhouse again!

"You seriously think that? You think I fear I'd like to jump anyone I'd see there – is that what you're asking?"

"Well… why else won't you ever come along?"

"Maybe I just don't like the thought that anybody'd see me _naked!_?", Ed suggested in disbelieve (seriously – could the guy have been any more prejudiced?!) and waited for a response when Kiba's eyebrows furrowed.

"That doesn't make any sense – at least not if the rumors about you really _are_ true", his friend pointed out. "According to those you're sleeping around quite carelessly, having another one every other day – doesn't exactly sound like you'd be shy, man!"

"Aw – now I'm hurt! Why'd you never accept any of _my_ offers?", Mask-man suddenly intercepted, but Ed only waved the question off impatiently, not in the mood for the man's games just then.

"Just because I'm fucking around, doesn't mean that I draw blank – I don't know how often you had sex so far, but I assure you: it's sufficient if the important parts are bared", he explained and propped his elbow on the table before he rested his chin lazily in his palm. The casual appearance he hopefully managed to convey was everything but what he really felt right then. The way this conversation was heading was making him fucking uncomfortable and he hoped it would just stop right there…

Kiba just snorted and looked at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"You mean to tell me that you do it practically _completely clothed_?!", Dog-man asked incredulously, his eyes wide in disbelieve and his nose wrinkled as if disgusted by the thought alone. Ed considered him for a moment, but then nodded with a shrug.

"Why the hell not? That's my way to go – you've got a problem with that?", he asked in return and cocked one eyebrow in a challenging manner.

"But-… you-… There's so much you _miss_ then!", his friend exclaimed and pulled his own hair in despair, before he turned his head to the Hokage, who was still listening into their conversation shamelessly. "Tell him – that's not how you should do it, right?!"

"You're not the most openminded guy, Kiba, are you?", Mask-man just asked in an amused but utterly calm tone before he pointed out, "There's no such thing as a _'right way'_ – as long as both parties consent, there aren't many restrictions."

"Right. And I just do this for the stress relieve anyway – not to get all touchy-feely and shit", Ed added casually, before he waved Ayumi over, to order a beer for Kiba and a shochu for himself. He really needed alcohol and though he usually preferred the hop drink, he craved something more potent right now...

Kiba just sat there in silence and sipped at his new beer every once in a while, obviously deep in thought about the details their previous conversation had provided. His eyes were mostly glued to the tabletop in front of him, but occasionally he lifted his glance to consider Ed or the Hokage with uneasy glances.

"I think I can accept that gender doesn't make much of a difference for you – as long as you don't make a move on me at least!", he stated after a while which caused Ed only to roll his eyes. Kiba was eyeing Him intently now, as if it were really important to him to get whatever he was about to tell him off his chest. "How you're going about sex though, is rather fucked up, man!", Kiba told him insistently and pounded his fist on the tabletop for emphasis. When this only caused Ed to look at him disbelievingly and with a cocked eyebrow, he heaved a sigh and slid his palm tiredly over his face once, as if he were unsure how to continue. "There should at least be _some_ 'touchy-feely' – and, as cheesy as that may sound now: the best sex I've had so far, was always with women I really cared about", he told him with a serious expression. "I'm not saying I'm against one-night-stands in general – hell no! – but if you have _only_ that, you're missing the best about it, man!"

Ed forced a smile on his face, but as soon as he realized, that he hadn't been able to successfully cover the pain that statement had involuntary evoked, he rubbed a hand over his mouth and decided on a calm and neutral expression instead. He wasn't completely sure if this helped his case, but at least it wouldn't look as pathetic as before.

"I'm 24 years old Kiba – I've tried what you're talking about. I just don't think that it's worth it for me."

When Kiba only stared at him in confusion and the Hokage's single eye settled on him questioningly, Ed only sighed in defeat before he elaborated. "You know me – I don't do anything by halves. I get much too invested, way too fast – and it's not worth the pain afterwards… But I _like_ sex – and it's one of the few things that _really_ manage to take my mind off of shit – so I had to find a way to make it work. And I did. End of story."

Kiba seemed to take some time to grasp what he'd just told him, but when he did, his eyes widened before an emotion Ed had hoped he'd be spared from, washed over his features: _pity_.

It was the last thing he wanted to deal with – especially as it was totally misplaced. He was _happy_ with his life – _thrilled_ even! How the fuck could this guy have the audacity to _pity_ him?!

It took Ed some effort to suppress a warning growl, but he decided to concentrate on the other part of his audience instead. He was almost certain he wouldn't find pity in the Hokage's face.

Actually, he wasn't completely sure what he _did_ see there, when he directed his gaze to Mask-man. He'd expected something like amusement, but instead he was faced with what he'd interpret as surprise? Understanding? Curiosity? … Hell – he had no idea how to read the changes in the few features he could see. The guy would surely be fucking _excellent_ at poker…

"Sheeesh… Who the fuck's played with you like that?", Kiba murmured under his breath, but Ed was pretty sure it'd been meant rhetorically, so he didn't bother to answer. "Sorry buddy – I didn't know. I won't bother you anymore about it – promise!"

His mood was at rock bottom though, and he was pretty sure not even Kiba's colorful description of what he'd been able to glimpse on the bath house's _'other side of the fence',_ would change anything about that anytime soon…

∴∇Δ∇Δ∇Δ∇∴

By the time he knocked on Naruto's door the next day, he was still a bit upset from the previous night's conversation. He hadn't thought it'd get so fucking personal and it irked him, that it hadn't only been Kiba, but also the Hokage he'd filled in. Why the hell he hadn't just kept his fucking mouth shut, was anyone's guess...

But such thoughts were immediately forgotten as soon as Naruto opened the door for him, the smile he'd forced on his face, much easier to maintain all of a sudden. Hell, that man's mood was infectious!

"You're right on time, buddy – Hinata's just ordered me to set the table", he informed Ed, "If you help me, we'll be faster!"

His stomach decided to make itself known in exactly that moment and so Ed found himself following Naruto obediently to the kitchen without objections. Hinata greeted him with a friendly smile, while the blonde got the placemats and chopsticks and Ed fetched the dishes. They'd just placed everything where it belonged and settled on opposite sides of the table, when Hinata followed them with a huge pod of something that suspiciously looked like ramen.

Why the hell he'd ever wondered what she'd cook was beyond him – of course he'd get ramen if Naruto invited him over! The man didn't eat anything _but_ those fucking noodles!

"Mmmhhh – it smells delicious!", Ed had to admit nonetheless and gave Hinata a huge, thankful grin – which was all too easy now, with a steaming pot of soup in front of him and all.

"I hope it tastes just as good", she replied with a smile and filled his bowl with ramen, then repeated the process with Naruto's and finally served herself a portion.

"Thanks Hinata – I'm sure it'll be perfect!", Ed assured her when he picked up his chopsticks and stirred his serving a few times. "Naruto's always bragging how delicious your food is!"

He watched with delight how her cheeks slightly pinked, while eyes darted to the mentioned blonde, who had already stuffed his mouth with a load noodles and just shrugged in defense, before he swallowed to defend himself.

"Well – it's the truth! I just can't help but tell everybody how lucky I am!"

Ed only chuckled while Hinata's pink cheeks turned even redder. She immediately tilted her head downwards to hide it, but it was still obvious how awkward she felt, so Ed decided it was probably better to tell her another time that he'd never eaten better ramen so far, when he'd finally taken his first bite.

He had to admit, he usually preferred rice dishes, but if cooked by Hinata, ramen actually had the potential to become his favorite eastern dish! No wonder Naruto loved them so much…

They fell into an easy conversation about daily life in Konoha which turned to questions about his own home country and their culture as the minutes flew by. He told them about the advantages the technological progress there had brought with it and delved into an explanation about phones and washing machines (though the latter weren't all too common yet).

When he and Naruto both were well into their fifth helping, their chatter was abruptly interrupted by his friend's sudden hiss, before he dropped his chopsticks as if he'd been burned. Hinata immediately jumped up and hurried to his side to inspect his right arm, which had obviously been the source of his problem.

If her calm and unconcerned expression was anything to go by, this hadn't been the first time something like that had happened, but Ed couldn't help but stare when suddenly strange lines appeared around her eyes. They almost looked like fucking _veins a_ nd he had trouble to keep himself from staring at her like a moron.

Her focus seemed to concentrate on Naruto's shoulder and before he had the chance to ask what the hell was going on, she applied two fingers to a point there and his blonde friend sighed in relieve.

Whatever his problem had been, had obviously been solved and Hinata slowly stepped back after Naruto had muttered a grateful "thanks". She smiled at him, while she returned to her place and only then Ed realized, that he'd jumped up as well sometime.

Hinata looked at him in amusement, the veins around her eyes still the center of his attention. She probably could've started to strip right there before him and he'd still be glaring at her face like a fucking idiot!

Only when she lowered her gaze and sat down, a small crease forming between her brows ripped him out of his thoughts and he forced himself to actually look _into_ her eyes, before she lifted her gaze in confusion.

"I didn't know you wear a prosthetic!", she pointed out, obviously a bit taken aback – but her surprise was nothing compared to what Ed felt. His eyes widened in shock and he involuntarily took a step back.

"How the hell do you know?", he whispered, while his fingers dug into the backrest of his chair, clinging to it as if it were the only thing keeping him upright. Hell – this was one of the few details about himself, he didn't want _anyone_ to know, if he could help it… How the hell could she tell? So far he'd even managed to keep it hidden from Sakura – and they were sparring every other day!

"Your chakra-flow stops about mid-thigh in your left leg", she explained as if it were an absolutely normal thing to say, "The only explanation for something like that is that the rest of it is missing – at least the flesh and blood part."

He gulped uneasily. "Yeah, well… you're right", he admitted reluctantly, while his gaze went back and forth between the two people in the room with him. He was aware of the small frown creeping onto Naruto's face, but decided not to address it right then – there were more pressing matters to attend to first. "Is this common? I mean – can everybody see chakra? I've never heard about something like that before..."

Hinata only chuckled lightly and smiled at him, probably trying to ease the tension between them, but only with minimal success. He was fucking freaked out and a mere smile wouldn't change anything about that. "No – it's my clan's kekkei genkai. Only our bloodline can perform it", she explained patiently and looked demonstratively onto the chair he was still clutching at, "Won't you sit down again? Your soup will get cold, Edward."

Reluctantly he let go of its backrest and did as she'd asked him, before he slowly picked his chopsticks up again, feeling fucking awkward while doing so. Naruto and Hinata were still staring at him, as if they expected some sort of explanation – even though he couldn't see it due to his head being tilted to his bowl of ramen, he could fucking _feel_ their eyes boring into his scull.

It was irritating the hell out of him.

And of course he didn't manage to stand it very long.

"Okay – I lost my leg when I was twelve. It was some sort of accident – but it was my own fault and I really don't want to talk about it!", he snapped, lifting his head to stare at his blonde friend when the few minutes of tense silence had finally managed to get to him. Naruto had seemed almost a bit upset at first, but after Ed's outburst his features had relaxed and he even nodded in understanding. "I'd also appreciate it if this could remain between us. I don't want the whole fucking village to know...", he added in a low voice, darting both Hinata and Naruto a questioning glance.

"Of course – we wouldn't have told anyone anyway!", Hinata immediately assured him and looked to her boyfriend for confirmation, "Right Naruto?"

"Yeah… Sakura knows though – right?", the blonde asked carefully and when Ed only shook his head, his friend sighed heavily.

"Why the hell do you make such a big deal about it?", Ed wanted to know and felt his eyebrows furrow involuntarily. Hell – this was none of his business and if he wanted to keep this detail to himself he had every fucking right to!

"Why do _you_?", the blonde countered, equally upset, "No wonder Sakura doesn't trust you – you don't trust her either! Have you at least talked to her about Sasuke?"

"No. Haven't had the time yet..."

"Really? I think you're avoiding her!", Naruto accused and crossed the hands over his chest. This was probably a historic moment as he completely ignored the still half filled bowl of ramen in front of him (yes, he was still able to see it like a fucking optimist) but Ed was too upset to appreciate it.

"The hell I am! I just have better things to do than to run after her!", he exclaimed, feeling the anger inside him rise to dangerous levels. He was aware that he needed to get a grip on himself, but that was fucking easier said than done!

"Okay, okay – I won't say anything anymore, happy?!", Naruto sighed and casually picked his chopsticks up again, before he began to shovel the remaining ramen into his mouth without another word.

Ed only glanced skeptically at Hinata, who had silently listened to their dispute and only shrugged, obviously not really able to read her boyfriends behavior either. But when she reminded him of his own bowl of soup with a gesture of her hand, he immediately resumed his meal in silence.

He was aware that this probably hadn't been how Hinata or Naruto would've expected this lunch to turn out, but they'd have to deal with it. Ed certainly was used to such developments by now – he'd accepted that he was sort of the master of fuck ups. It had only been a matter of time until this fact would leak out to his Konohan friends as well...

But who the hell could've known that Hinata'd be able to see his fucking _chakra_ and realize that – oh, how interesting – Ed lacked a fucking leg! He had been too taken aback to react any other way than shocked...

Hell, why was she even able to _see_ chakra – the idea alone was weird, after all it was some sort of _invisible_ energy. Yes, Invisible – as in: not meant to be fucking _seen_! Hell, it was hard enough to feel that shit – how log would it take someone to manage _seeing_ it?!

But now that he thought about it, this was probably also the reason behind these strange veins around her eyes he'd noticed. It had looked a bit creepy, but if it allowed her too see fucking _chakra_ , an ability like that was damn worth the idiotic stares it probably entailed.

Wait a minute... She could see chakra, right? Then she'd also be able to tell him, if he'd at least managed to _forge_ it!

"How much did you see?", he asked excitedly as soon as that idea came to his mind. Fuck the rest of his ramen! He could live with it if they got cold – this was more important now! "I mean my chakra – was it just the mere minimum everyone has, or was there a bit more? I've spent the last fucking _months_ trying to control that shit, but haven't had any luck yet – I'd really appreciate it if you could at least tell me if I managed to forge some..."

Hinata's eyes widened a bit, but then a small smile spread on her lips. "Of course I can tell you that", she chuckled lightly and apparently activated her fancy family trait, as he suddenly saw the veins popping up around her eyes again. "As far as I can tell I'd say your reserves are filled to about sixty percent – that is if I assume you have an average chakra pool. Normally I can also guess what your strong element is, as the colors are different for each type. But yours is so bright, that I can't say for sure. You probably have at least two equally dominant types I guess, but you'll have to resort to chakra paper – I'm sure Sakura can get you some though!"

This was quite a lot of information- definitely more than he had expected, but assuring him nonetheless. Hell, he'd spend so much time wondering about and even doubting his success, that this was really a relieve and he couldn't help but sigh heavily.

"Thank you – this really helps a lot!", he told her in a low voice and gave her what he hoped was a grateful smile.

"You're welcome", she replied with a smile, "It's really no big deal! I would offer to help you with your training, but I've got some shifts at the hospital this week and also have to leave for a minor mission to Suna on Friday, so there probably won't be any time before you meet for your daily lessons with Sakura again."

"What?", he asked positively surprised that she would've thought about offering her help at all, but realized that he hadn't been the only one exclaiming his confusion.

"You leave for a mission on Friday?", Naruto almost whined and Hinata obviously tried to suppress an amused expression, if the tense lines around her lips were anything to go by.

"Yes – I told you several times already, bit I had the feeling you weren't really listening to me", she playfully chided with a singsong voice, "At least I know that you got the message now."

∴∇Δ∇Δ∇Δ∇∴

The rest of the week flew by like the landscapes outside a train window; a landscape you didn't actually see, because you finally managed to find a position comfortable enough to get some fucking sleep.

He hadn't actually realized _when_ it'd happened, but some time Konoha had become something akin to _home_ to him – at least a temporary one.

It also helped that he'd made a few friends – how the fuck he'd managed _that_ was anyone's guess, as it wasn't exactly a secret that he wasn't the most social or polite and least of all _friendly_ guy. But somewhere along the way he had found people who cared for him nonetheless.

It weren't always the one's whose attention he would've hoped for – Sakura for example was still immune to his- … lets call it _'special charm'_ – and sometimes some of them cared _way too much_ for Ed's liking (Naruto and Kiba – the nosy bastards – were the prime examples...), but at least he hadn't ever been bored until the next Monday came.

"I hope you didn't waste your week off?", Sakura immediately asked as soon as he was within ear-shot. Ed couldn't suppress a defeated sigh. Of course she wouldn't waste any time and immediately come back to business, but she could at least have greeted him first…

"Good morning to you too", he grumbled when he finally stood in front of her and looked down at her grimly. "And yeah – actually I finally managed to smash a few tree trunks!"

He had trouble to suppress a smug grin when he saw her surprise, but she soon caught herself and just clicked her tongue nonchalantly, before her eyebrows narrowed in suspicion. "I believe it when I see it!"

Her challenging tone irked him, but he managed to maintain a pokerface and only nodded. "Where?" If his tone was a bit gruff, it was her own fault now – it was still much to early to expect that he'd suppress his temper…

"Show me to those trees first", she demanded. Sakura didn't ask, or suggest – no, she always fucking _demanded_ or _ordered_. She just didn't _do_ nice and friendly. Who the fuck Naruto had been talking about, when he told him about 'one of the kindest people he knew' was beyond him, but it had definitely _not_ been Sakura; he must've confused her with someone else…

He didn't bother to reply anything and simply marched into the direction he'd smashed the first tree on Sunday. They soon reached the clearing and when he gestured to the tree trunk in question, Ed noticed how Sakura's features hardened.

" _You_ did that?", she asked, not even bothering to mask her disbelieve, which was just the same as practically accusing him of lying. But he merely nodded, not in the mood to fight now, even if his anger-level was dangerously high already, for such a fucking early hour. He'd had been through that enough times to know, that it was useless to talk with that irritating woman if she was like that.

He had absolutely no clue what he'd done _now_ – hell they'd only met a few minutes ago! – but something had obviously rubbed her the wrong way already and he didn't intend to provoke her any further.

"Then show me – show me _now_ , on _this_ tree!", she ordered and gestured to another tree to their left and he only sighed before he obediently stepped towards it.

He briefly closed his eyes and tried to concentrate his energies into his hand – which was fucking difficult, to say the least, when all he could think of at the moment was the gall of this annoying woman! But he ignored those thoughts as insistently as possible and tried to focus on his left fist instead; he'd realized it was easier to work with than his right, probably because there was something off with it sometimes.

And then he hauled off and punched.

The result was – as he'd feared – not what he'd hoped for. All he had managed to do was scratch his knuckles open on the rough bark. He risked a sideways glance at Sakura and gritted his teeth when he saw the smug expression on her face.

It was all the motivation he needed to try again, desperately concentrating on his fist to fucking _show her already_ that he wasn't a waste of her precious time and had _indeed_ managed to make at least _something_ work.

And this time his effort worked out as planned and he pulled his fist back from a gaping hole in the trunk. It had even cracked at a few places and probably damaged the tree permanently. He would've to fix that later…

He took a step back and turned around to give Sakura a better look and also to see her reaction. The smug expression from earlier was completely replaced by something much tenser; her eyebrows were slightly furrowed and her jaw stubbornly clenched –

– Fuck! Why the hell was she _angry_ now!?

"You really managed to do it – I can't believe it!", she exclaimed and strode towards the tree. Her fingers examined the damage he'd done as if she didn't trust her eyes alone and when her head whipped around again to face him, her expression was stern.

"It took you three fucking _months_ to get a hang on controlling your chakra", she growled angrily and suddenly she stood directly in front of him and shoved him into the chest. "What the _fuck_ is your secret – how did you manage to do in such a short time what others need _years_ for!?"

If he'd been surprised about her furious tone, he was downright shocked about the accusation on her words. Did she really think he had somehow cheated, found a shortcut no one else had before? Was that even possible?!

"I only did what you told me: I concentrated on my inner energies, the physical and the spiritual one, tried to make them one and use the resulting whirl of energy", he told her as calmly as he could, considering the fact that she had practically pinned him against a tree by then and was glaring daggers at him. "There's no secret, Sakura. Just a lot of dedication and stubbornness."

But that statement only made her growl furiously. "Like _fuck!_ – I know dedication and stubbornness! It brought me a long way, but nowhere near as fast as _you_!"

Ed sighed heavily and would've loved to run his hand over his face in frustration – if he'd only had enough room to move! But no – Miss I'm-furious-because-there-is-no-way-you-achieved-what-you-did-honestly had to pin his biceps' to a tree, making it practically impossible to lift his arms. "Fuck – I don't know why I already managed it – it took me long enough as it is, if you ask me!", he growled, slowly but surely loosing his calm as well, "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I've trained in Xing for a year! Controlling the Dragon's pulse is quite similar!"

She backed a bit away at that, but still held him firmly in place, her eyes still narrowed and glaring at him angrily – but at least not as hard as before, and there was a question lingering there as well. "Explain!", she snapped, when he didn't elaborate on his own and he sighed again – this time in defeat – before he explained.

"The Xingese have their own type of alchemy – their arrays are different, because the source they get their energy from to feed their transmutations, is different from the one I taught you. It's harder to learn, because you first have to _feel_ this energy – they call it the Dragon's pulse, which is some kind of energy-flow below ground – before you can start to manipulate and direct it; and trust me, learning to feel that shit is hard enough… As you well know by now, you don't need to channel any energy with the Amestrisian alchemy I taught you – it's just there, ready to be used if the array is drawn right."

Sakura still looked a bit miffed when he'd ended his explanation, but at least she didn't seem to be furious any more. "So this Dragon's pulse is something like chakra you can just use if you know how to?", she asked, sounding a bit confused, "Have you already been able to sense chakra before we started our training?"

He leant his head back against the tree and stared up at the canopy to think for a moment; his brain was much more cooperative when he didn't have to face those fucking impatient green eyes.

"I suppose you can say that the Dragon's pulse is similar to chakra in a way – but it's not the same", he slowly started to explain, but kept his eyes glued to the few leaves still clinging to the branches above him. "I knew how to sense chakra before I came here though. They taught me how to do that in Xing, but they call it differently – it's _'chi'_ there."

He saw her nodding her head in his peripheral vision and decided to risk facing her again. She was studying him thoughtfully as if she still thought he'd somehow managed to find something to accelerate his success at chakra control. "So you had some kind of advantage – but that still doesn't explain why you where _that_ fast!", she told him and though her accusing tone was gone now, her voice still told him that she doubted that he'd managed to succeed with only hard work and dedication.

Hell, was she thinking he'd used a stone? He'd told her about those… But she couldn't really think _that_ low about him, could she?

"Why the hell can't you just be happy that I managed to do it!", he suddenly snapped – and honestly, he was surprised he'd been able to bottle it up as long as he did. "Hell – you were the one to teach me – why can't you just be proud that you did a fucking good job and be done with it!?"

Her eyes widened in an incredulous expression, before she suddenly leant in once more, pinning him hard against the tree again, where she'd almost let him go before.

"Be _happy_? Be _proud_?!", she whispered and somehow he wished she'd be shouting at him again. Her eyes were so fucking cold that he really had to suppress a shiver and he could't help but gulp uncomfortably in the tense moment of silence, before she continued. "I spent years learning what you managed to do in three fucking _months_! I always lacked strength and stamina – but I learned to accept that and made up for it with brains and dedication in the end. I'm known for my exceptional chakra control now – and here comes some foreigner who tells everyone who'll listen, he wants to learn all that in much less time", she hissed angrily.

Her nose was almost touching his by then and she seemed to realize that as well in that moment, as she immediately made more room between them. When she continued her voice was just a whisper and it made Ed even uneasier than before, as it suddenly lacked _any_ emotion. "It was a rather amusing thought at the beginning, but now I wish I'd never met you. You've made everything I worked so hard for, look pathetic in comparison. I have to question every single one of the lousy few accomplishments in my life..."

And that was the moment something clicked in Ed's mind and everything fell into place like some sort of magnetic puzzle-pieces – each knowing their place with an instinctive certainty. And now that he saw the resulting picture, he wondered how the fuck he'd been able to _overlook it_ for so long.

Sakura was _jealous_.

"Fuck...", he whispered helplessly, not really sure how to react, but simultaneously aware with a certain kind of dread, that this wouldn't stop him from talking and possibly making the situation even _worse_. "I don't know what to say to that, but -... Fuck! Sakura – you're a fucking _genius_ , okay? There's absolutely no reason to doubt that – least of all because I managed to punch some holes in a few trees! Hell – I only managed that because of _you_ , because _you_ told me so much about the fucking _background_ , things I couldn't find answers to at the library because I had no fucking access to the interesting stuff!"

He was aware that he rambled, but he just had to get a few things off his chest, now that she finally listened to him – and for some strange reason she did just that; silently, with a deep frown on her face. "My life's not nearly as perfect as you seem to think it is – I've done a _hell_ of a lot of things I'm not proud of – some even unforgivable – and I've _paid_ for my stupid habit of overestimating my abilities more than once.

"I take our training very seriously, Sakura, and even if you think I slack off as soon as we part in the evenings, because I go to work at the pub, I try to do my homework even there, whenever I've a few moments to spare", he explained insistently. Hell, if the woman knew how often Ren had to shake him out of one of those deeply concentrated moments, she'd probably laugh…

The frown on Sakura's face had vanished, but he couldn't read her expression any more, as she'd traded it for an impassive mask. He felt more and more uncomfortable by the second and finally decided to push himself off the tree…

Sakura immediately let go of his arms and took a step back to make room between them. Why the hell she suddenly bothered was beyond him, but he was glad that she'd reacted as he'd hoped for once. "I've also spent my days off training my chakra control – I actually managed this last Sunday", he continued and gestured to the tree he'd first shown her. "You seem to think that I'm a lazy bastard who doesn't give a shit about the things you say, but I _do_ – and I took your advice to use every fucking moment I could spare to practice to heart."

Ed kept a close eye on Sakura's reactions and though she'd closed her face off, maintaining a fucking detached expression, he'd seen the surprise gleaming in her eyes on a few occasions. So he could at least be pretty sure he was on the right track. Maybe he should follow Naruto's advice now and mention their wounded teammate, this was probably the right moment to do something like that. He should take advantage of the fact that she was just listening anyway – who knew when he'd have such a chance again…

"I'd probably have spend the rest of the day damaging every tree in the area after that first success", he started, to manage an at least somewhat smooth bridge, "Hadn't there been something drawing my attention elsewhere. Turns out there was a badly wounded man nearby. The Xingese have some pretty awesome healing arrays, you know – came in quite handy that I knew them, the guy probably wouldn't have made it otherwise."

Sakura had obviously forgotten that she'd meant to hide her feelings from him, as the surprise was suddenly blatantly visible on her face. She was obviously shocked by the news, which was a calming thought – nobody else had told her yet and there was still the possibility that Naruto was indeed right and this would change a few things between them.

"I carried him to the hospital and waited there until someone told me, that he was fine and'd be back to health soon. But when the man told me to wait for the guy's teammates I bolted. I didn't want to deal with that shit – hell, I'd just done what everybody with the ability would've. I can't stand it when people become all grateful and shit just because I acted human – fuck, I'm rambling again..."

He rubbed a hand tiredly over his face and sighed. Why couldn't he just stick to the basics for once? Hell, this was important – he should fucking get to the point!

"Naruto told me it was you", he blurted out and when he realized how strange that sounded he explained, "The teammates the medic had talked about – Naruto told me, the guy I'd carried to the hospital was your former teammate. His name's Sasuke, right?" Sakura was still staring at him in shock and he felt more and more awkward by the lonver the silence lasted. "... How's he doing, by the way?", he asked, just to say _something_ and disturb this unnerving stillness between them.

And just like that she suddenly flung her arms around him and embraced him in a tight hug. "I didn't know! Hell I- ... I should've-!", she babbled incoherently into his neck, "The medic- ... Long blonde hair – I should've known it was _you_!"

She clung to him as if her life depended on it and somewhere along the line he'd started to move his left in soothing circles over her shoulder blades, while his right rested on the small of her back. "Shhh", he tried to soothe her, "It's okay now – he's safe-"

"It's _not_ okay!", she immediately interrupted and pushed herself far enough back, to look into his eyes, "I was so _mean_ to you, just because I couldn't accept, that you'd really managed to accomplish what you'd come here for! I realized how hard you tried – how often you bit back any comment that could've provoked me! I'm so _sorry_ Edward – I- ...I wish I hadn't said the things i did earlier..."

Ed couldn't help but smile in relief. "It's no big deal – at least not if you really didn't mean it!", he assured her, but kept his eyes questioningly directed at hers. He needed to know if she _really_ didn't mean them or if she just felt bad now, because she'd found out he'd been her precious Sasuke's savior...

"Of course not! I- ... I was just so fucking jealous. I still am, to be honest... But... I'm _glad_ I met you", she admitted, even if a bit reluctantly – which just made it a bit easier to believe. "I wouldn't have known alchemy even exists otherwise, right? I-... I hope you're still willing to work with me – I promise I'll give my best to not let my jealousy dictate my every action from now on, okay?"

Ed couldn't help but chuckle at how fucking strange this whole situation had turned out. He never would've thought that he'd ever find Sakura staring at him so blatantly hopeful. But he didn't want to get his hopes too high, as he could still recall the last time when he'd thought things would change for the better.

They _had_ , of course, but not to the extend he'd expected and he'd felt positively run down when reality caught up to him. This time, he planned not to expect _anything_ and let each situation come at him without prejudice.

"Of course I'll still work with you – I'm quite sure Mask-man wouldn't bother to find anyone else willing to put up with me", he replied with a shrug and tried his best not to show how relieved he was. A small smile spread on Sakura's lips and he was so fucking glad, he couldn't help but smile like an idiot in return.

"I'm afraid that's not entirely true", she told him in a gentle voice and Ed had trouble not to startle, when he suddenly felt her fingers caress the nape of his neck. By the way she thoughtfully stared into space, she probably did it absentmindedly, but he still couldn't help but feel pleased by this development.

It hadn't been rare that they touched during their lessons – if during their sparring, or whenever they corrected a wrong stance – they'd never shied away from skin contact. This was something different though, as it wasn't at all related to their training regime, but felt uncharacteristically personal. "But I'm glad you're still on board…", she muttered finally.

Their eyes met again and he supposed this was exactly the moment Sakura realized that her fingers were caressing his neck, as she immediately backed away as if she'd been burned. "S-sorry!", she stuttered, and her cheeks turned a pink just a few shades darker than her hair. "I was in thought and didn't realize I did that!"

"I thought as much", he assured her with a small smile, and had a hard time to keep it from turning into a grin; she'd probably think he'd make fun of her, which would inevitably turn into a fight again. No, he really couldn't have that right now! "It's no big deal – I just didn't want to interrupt you and I have to admit it felt rather nice!"

Sakura only growled in frustration before she hid her face in her hands, which – as his stupid mind supplied – looked rather _'cute'_. "Don't get used to it!", she forced out between gritted teeth and he just couldn't contain the grin anymore.

"Wouldn't dare to", he responded easily, but couldn't help but sound a bit amused.

"Fine!"

"Fine."

"So – could we please forget about this and get on with our lesson for today?", she suggested, acting as casual as possible, and as usual it sounded rather like an order again. He couldn't bring himself to care in the moment though and kept grinning like an idiot, when she continued. "I haven't been sitting on my hands either, you know!"

* * *

 **AN:** I hope you liked the update - and the Ed-Sakura interaction wasn't too OOC... ^^'

Thanks for all the reviews **KorraPanera, guest, Brit, lulu** and **Guest** :) I really appreciate it that you took the time!

at **guest** : I'm glad you liked Kakashi's flirting and I hope you liked their interaction in this chapter as well ;) I don't know where exactly Sasuke's storyline will go - but it won't have too much to do with Sakura (though she'll probably try to change that at first...). I can't promise that he won't unintentionally be a prick, but he definitely won't deliberately try to hurt her!  
I know that Hinata was way more selfconfident than we know her to be, but I've had a few pictures of the latest (I at least think it was the latest) art-book in mind where she's everything but the meek and shy little thing we all know :D I think she changed quite a bit for the better as soon as she finally got a chance to be with Naruto :) At least that's my hope ;)

at **Brit** : I'm afraid Sasuke will stay in Konoha for a while ^^' but he won't become a protagonist ;) And Ed's crush on Kakashi is nothing really serious and more fueled by the fact that the man is in such a high and prestigious position (just like a certain Bastard-formerly-Colonel, Mask-man probably just reminds Ed of because of said position). So Ed will _eventually_ end up with Sakura... but its still a _long_ way there (I like the drama - I'm sorry ^^')

at **Guest** : _"Save Sasuke, and Sakura will forgive you."_ I'm rather sorry that it indeed comes down to that - but in my defense it'd been Naruto who suggested that (who isn't the brightest but understands human interaction better than we give him credit for most of the time...) And Sasuke was an important part of her life for some time - so it's understandable that she'd be _extremely_ glad if someone saved him - at least I think so...

Thanks for reading and I hope some of you will leave a few words again ;)  
Till next chapter ;)  
~ Orange


	7. How To Face Truths

_..._

 _"_ _The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with caution."_ **  
** **–** **Albus Dumbledore – Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.**

...

 **Lesson 7: How to deal with unwanted truths**

"How can you say something like that – he's nearly bled to death!", she exclaimed irritatedly. And really: why was he criticizing her for caring for Sasuke, when it was pretty clear that he'd had a rough time!? Hell – Kakashi had been their team leader once! Shouldn't he encourage her to look out for her former teammates?

"Well he seemed pretty fit after that transfusion – Ed _did_ a really good job with those wounds", the man pointed out casually while he watched her finish her breakfast; he – the neurotic freak that he was – had _of course_ already finished his meal in the blink of an eye, to prevent anyone from seeing his face. She supposed that not even Naruto or Sasuke had gotten a glimpse up to that point, but she'd _had_ the dubious honor once.

He'd just come home from an especially nasty mission to Rain, back when Naruto had still been training with Jiraya. Somehow he had managed to drag his other team members to the hospital before he collapsed himself and Tsunade and Shizune had been occupied with Genma and Raidō (whose wounds looked the most life threatening), leaving only Sakura herself as the next best qualified medic to see to Kakashi's wounds.

Despite the numerous times she and her former teammates had tried to get a glimpse of what was hidden under that annoying mask of his (at times even with rather nasty tricks), she'd felt like she committed a sacrilege when she had to cut it from his face back then.

It had been the only time she'd ever seen him without it and she rued it to that day, that she hadn't really been able to appreciate the view. She'd been way too worried about his condition. The only detail she remembered with certainty, was that he definitely hadn't fish-lips and that his mouth – on the contrary – had looked rather… kissable.

"I know I repeat myself, but you shouldn't have put your training off just because of Sasuke – it would've been more than sufficient to go look for him in the evenings."

But why the hell she'd ever thought about kissing the man was beyond her now, as she much rather felt the urge to let him taste her fist that very moment…

"He didn't even appreciate your effort, did he?", he asked, even having the audacity to sound innocently. As if he wouldn't very much _know_ the answer to _that_ question…

"No", she growled out between gritted teeth, when she'd swallowed the last of her miso soup. Did he really have to beat a dead horse!? She got it already – damnit!

Kakashi sighed and shifted his weight a bit more to the right, the elbow supporting his head tilting a bit more in the same direction. "Of course he didn't… You really should start to acknowledge, that he isn't the only man worth your time. Or are you actually okay with the way he's treating you?!", he asked with a frown and she was honestly a bit surprised by the concern that showed on his face – or at least the parts of it she could see.

"Of course not!", she denied firmly and shook her head in disbelieve, "I just couldn't help but hope that he changed since I last saw him. He didn't – I know that now – but at least I'm absolutely positive that he's in the best of health now..."

He regarded her with a searching look for a few moments, the silence between them tensing more and more with every second that passed. She found herself forced to grab her cup and sip on her tea, just to do _something_ and take a bit of the awkwardness.

"You know, if you treated any other man like you treat Sasuke, he'd be putty in your hands", Kakashi finally noted, casually inspecting his fingernails and Sakura almost coughed her green tea all over the table. What the hell was _that_ statement for?!

"Ed for example – if you'd be as lenient and kind to _him_ , you'd surely win him over!"

She couldn't help but snort at that idea – glad, that she'd already swallowed the rest of her tea that hadn't found its way onto the tabletop – and narrowed her eyes at her former team leader. "If you're trying to set me up with him, you'll be disappointed", she told him firmly, "And he's rather busy working his way into his customer's pants – as far as I've heard. That doesn't sound like he's looking for anything serious – and I don't _do_ casual!"

Just as she'd hoped, her words caused Kakashi to change his demeanor completely, his formerly almost challenging glare turning soft and understanding, before he nodded, and his slumped posture straightened to an attentive one.

"I'm aware of that. But I'm pretty sure that if you'd really _try_ , you'd probably be able to change his way", he reasoned carefully, a serious expression on his face now, "And Trust me – he really doesn't have to _'work his way'_ into anyone's pants. People are practically asking him for it! I mean – look at him! He _is_ rather handsome and this exotic flair his hair and eyes add to the package make him almost irresistible! Don't tell me it doesn't affect you at all!"

Sakura couldn't help but snort again and eyed her opposite with disbelieve. "If you're so very thrilled by his looks, why don't you make a move on him yourself – I heard he doesn't mind gender much!", she challenged with a smirk.

She'd heard the one or other story about her former Sensei as well. The rumors suggested that he was very much a ladies man and would probably feel offended by the mere idea – hopefully enough to let the topic drop...

"Oh – I _did_! Several times actually", Kakashi told her nonchalantly, seemingly not in the leasts affronted and with those crinkled eyes that told her he was probably smiling underneath his mask. Her smirk immediately dropped from her face, while she felt her eyes widen in disbelief.

Had she really understood him right?!

"I think he never really bought it though. I admit I was just mocking him at first – he's been staring at me rather blatantly when he showed up in my office the first time; his thoughts couldn't have been much more obvious, the way his eyes were almost _devouring_ me. But, you know, he _does_ have a certain kind of charm", he pointed out with a chuckle and tilted his head thoughtfully before he continued, staring directly at her with a mischievous gleam in his eyes, „It certainly takes a bit time to get used to, but _when_ you are, you even feel kind of special when he's insulting you."

She must have looked like a bad imitation of a fish, while she felt her mouth opening and closing several times, not able to find the right words. But when she finally did, her eyebrows were drawn into a frown and her voice had a certain edge to it.

"You have to be kidding me!?"

∴∇Δ∇Δ∇Δ∇∴

Despite her former team leader's bold attempts to drive her into Edward's arms, she found herself on the way to the rebuild Uchiha compound after her training session with said blonde.

Many of the new houses were occupied now, as nothing reminded of the former clan anymore. The original homes had been destroyed by Pain, breaking most of the furnishings inside as well and no one had bothered to preserve the few things that could've been worth saving in the mess after the attack.

All evidence that there had once lived a now almost extinct clan, had been wiped out that day. The village leaders had decided that the people had grieved long enough after the massacre and decided to bring the district back to life again, by allowing families to settle there.

Other than the fact that it stood in the same place as the old one, Sasuke's new house hadn't much in common with the old one he'd lived in with his family. It was simple and completely made of wood – as most of the houses that had needed to be rebuild were. The furniture was just as simple as the house itself and rather sparse, as he hadn't been staying very long after he moved in. He probably hadn't bothered to make it cozier, as he knew he'd leave soon the last time...

"Sakura – why am I not surprised?", Sasuke stated dryly when he opened the door, but she ignored the comment and brushed past him into the living room, placing the takeout she'd brought on the small coffee table there.

"You need to eat _something_ and I'm pretty sure you didn't leave the house all day", she replied unfazed and gave him a flat look, "I would've heard people talking about you on my way here otherwise."

She saw him heaving a sigh, before he finally closed the door and approached her. "Thanks", he mumbled quietly, before he slumped down to sit beside the table and took a look into the first carton he could grab. Smiling faintly, she made herself comfortable opposite of him and took one of the dishes on her own, but ended up only picking at it with her chopsticks, preoccupied with her thoughts.

"Spit it."

When she looked up in surprise, these mesmerizing dark eyes she'd longed to see for so long, were staring at her blankly. She swallowed and ducked her head, embarrassed that it was obviously rather easy for him to read her.

"I was just wondering...", she began, picking at her noodles absentmindedly while she kept her gaze stubbornly locked on her food. She couldn't risk to look at him now – it'd be even easier for him to figure her out. "When are you planning to leave again?", she asked and felt anger flare inside her, when she realized how broken her voice sounded.

How pathetic she was! – No wonder he'd never shown any interest in her...

She waited patiently for a few moments, forcing a few bites of her meal down just to do _something_ and bridge the awkward silence. It felt as if _hours_ had passed, until Sasuke finally answered.

"I was thinking... That it's probably time to stay and settle down."

Her head immediately flipped up involuntary and she found herself staring at him in disbelief. "Are you serious?", she whispered, making sure no hopeful tone would sneak into her voice.

He nodded slowly. "It is unwise to roam about, completely on my own – I realize that now. As strong as I am, even I have to sleep sometime, or sleep overwhelms me at the most inconvenient times, like it happened recently", he sighed. She was surprised that he actually took the time to explain himself, but hung to his every word, knowing how rare such an occasion was. "They very nearly managed to kill me and with me, the last living member of the Uchiha clan would've died. I need to stop thinking just about me. I need to start restoring my clan."

Sakura blinked in surprise for a few moments, needing a bit longer to digest the words. It hadn't been the first time that she'd heard about this plan, but she hadn't expected to be confronted with it so soon. She'd had the impression that he needed to battle some inner daemons first, before he could move on, and she was honestly a bit surprised that he'd obviously dealt with those already.

"Do you have... someone particular in mind you'd want to do that with?", she asked cautiously, bracing herself for being disappointed by his answer.

"No."

His reply was firm and immediate and with that, their conversation found its end for the evening. Of course it hadn't been what she'd wanted to hear, but it could've been much worse as well...

∴∇Δ∇Δ∇Δ∇∴

"Edward – if you don't open the door _right now_ , I swear I'll kick it down!", she warned while she pounded against his apartment door, trying her hardest to contain her anger. She'd waited for him at their usual training ground for half an hour, but the idiot just didn't show up! Maybe she should've given him more time, but after exactly 30 min she'd lost her patience and made her way over to his flat.

She never been there before as she'd never had any reason to, but she knew where it was located from Naruto.

It was embarrassing, really, that she'd actually _believed_ Edward, when he told her he took her words – at least during their training – to heart. She'd actually _believed_ him that he was dedicated to learn something from her – which had been somehow even proven by his success so far – and that he respected her as his Sensei as much as she respected him as hers.

But then he stood her up – or even worse, _forgot_ about their agreement! What else should she've thought other than that he wasn't taking their training seriously – especially when it would've been one of her teaching sessions again?!

Some irritated grumbling from inside interrupted her irate thoughts, but she couldn't really make any words out and when he didn't open the door in the next moment she lost her nerve and kicked it down with her foot before she stomped into the room, fuming.

Everything happened rather quickly then and all she could do was blink in surprise when she found herself wrapped in something that looked a lot like a snake (?) of...wood? All she knew for sure was, that she couldn't even move an inch, let alone grab one of her kunais to defend herself.

Was he seriously attacking her now?

"What the-", she demanded, but was interrupted by Edward's voice, hissing a sharp "fuck!" Before he stumbled out of what she supposed was his bathroom.

He looked rather worse for the wear, the dark bruises under his eyes telling her, that he probably hadn't gotten much sleep. The leather pants he usually wore for training, sat tight on his hips already, but his belt was still loose and the simple red t-shirt he wore hung a bit skewed on his form, as if he'd put it on in a haste – which he probably had.

"Couldn't you have waited _one_ more fucking minute?", he grumbled and all she could do was gape at him incredulously. This man really had guts to criticize her in such a situation!

"Why am I wrapped like a sushi roll?", she screeched and probably would've been embarrassed by how girlish her voice sounded, hadn't she been so very furious and confused about the situation. And seriously – had such a treatment really been necessary?!

"You don't expect me to sleep without any precautions, do you?", he sighed and trotted towards his kicked down door without another explanation.

He walked. Towards. His _door_!

He simply brushed past her to fix his fucking _door_!

But just when she wanted to tell him (loud and with not so few, more or less colorful swear words) just _what_ she thought about him right then, he touched one of the planes of wood and the strong grip she'd been held in, disappeared immediately. The material melted into the floor again as if it never had been anything else, leaving her to drop to the ground in surprise.

When she'd collected herself enough to look up and glare daggers at the inhabitant of that clearly visitor-unfriendly place, she found a hand already waiting for her to accept and the angry words that'd been on the tip of her tongue melted away like ice, leaving only a fraction of the feelings, like a cool sensation behind.

"I'm really sorry I overslept", Edward immediately apologized when he'd pulled her up into a standing position. He actually looked ashamed and to be honest she immediately felt a bit bad for storming his apartment like that, now that she saw how very tired he still looked. "I had some kind of emergency last night and needed to lend a friend a shoulder. Got a little later than I would've liked, but at least Ren's a bit better now – or at least numb for the rest of the day. The guy will probably sleep the day away – won't be able to feel much of anything, except maybe nausea… – Sorry, I'm rambling again!"

Oh, right – she'd heard something about the bartender's girlfriend – or rather ex-girlfriend now – at the tea-house this morning. Apparently she broke up with him for another man and didn't even have the decency to make it in private, but ditched him in front of a room full of customers.

"You look like you could use a few more hours of sleep as well", she noted with a small frown, trying to concentrate in her concern instead of her shame for making such a scene. But when her eyes darted to the door, that now lay in two pieces on the ground, as if they had a mind on their own, she regretted her actions enough to apologize meekly. "I'm sorry I kicked your door down – I'll pay for a new one, of course!"

"Oh – forget the door", he laughed tiredly and waved his hand dismissively. "I'm an Alchemist, remember?" He winked playfully at her, which looked astoundingly adorable in his drowsy state, and trotted to the entrance of his apartment again, pulling the two planes of wood up to lean them against the doorway, before he clapped his hands. She watched as the characteristic blue light flared through the dim room and the material merged back to one piece. He clapped two more times and placed his fingers to the hinges at the door and the doorway respectively, before he heaved the door back in place.

"As good as new", he commented, while he brushed his hands off and examined his work critically.

"Pretty handy", she noted and stepped to his side to take a closer look as well. "I wonder if I'll ever be able to improvise like that..."

Ed turned towards her with a tired smile on his face. "I'm sure you will – you're much faster than I would've thought", he assured her and as he seldom complimented her, she supposed it wasn't just a shallow attempt to appease her. "You already know the runes by heart – you just need to get a hang of the compositions and geometrical variations of the arrays. The more advanced transmutations, which need more concentration and knowledge of the materials composition will probably need longer – but you as medic have the best basic knowledge to work with. I'm sure it won't even take you half as long as an average person!"

She couldn't help but frown at him in disbelief. "What time span are we talking?", she asked with a cocked eyebrow, more to confront him with reality again, than to expose him as a liar. He probably believed what he said and they only had different perceptions of time – at least when it came to her. It was pretty obvious that it couldn't be fast enough, when it concerned him…

But he only smirked and tilted his head. "How long will it take me to perform any real jutsus?", he asked in return, his voice sounding rather amused, and lifted his brow in a challenging manner as well.

"If you continue in this tempo? Probably only a few weeks – at least if we're talking about easy jutsus", she replied not without a certain amount of reluctance in her voice, "You _have_ been really fast so far."

"Wow – was that a compliment?", he asked, laughing in disbelief.

"As a matter of fact: yes", she answered dryly and crossed her hands in front of her chest defensively. "You should get back to bed – you really could do with some more beauty-sleep!", she pointed out to relativize her former ego-stoking. And it wasn't a lie either – he really _had_ looked better...

"Well, thanks", he replied in an equally dry tone, "But now I'm already up – and this is my learning time we're wasting here, so-" He patted his flat hands against his cheeks – if to give them a healthier look, or simply to accelerate the process of finally waking up completely, she wasn't entirely sure; but probably both.

"-let's get going!"

Sakura only had the time for one last glance at the one-room apartment, before he grabbed his coat and dragged her out of his flat.

"This strange thing that held me in place – was that some kind of trap-array?", she asked as soon as he'd closed the door behind them.

He sighed tiredly and nodded. "Yes", he allowed and clapped before he brushed his fingers against a spot over the handle, then he turned and walked a few feet, before he rummaged in one of his pockets to fish his journal out. After he'd skimmed through it for some time, while continuing towards their training ground, he stopped at a certain page and turned the book to show her an array he'd drawn there. It looked a bit strange in the center – as if that wasn't even a part of the array at all (she'd never seen such forms or signs in an array so far). He shook it demonstratively for a moment, until she realized that he wanted her to take it, and grabbed the book carefully.

She'd seen him writing into it many times already, but never just browsing through it to study what he'd written. Once she'd chanced a glance into it, while he'd stepped out for a moment during their training, but she couldn't read anything at all, as it was written in another script – probably Western script.

"Look closely and remember the center of this one – if you draw it just where I touched the door earlier, right above the handle, you won't get caught the next time. Just don't write it down anywhere – I don't want anybody else to know how to enter my home without permission..."

They were almost back at the training ground until she was positive that she'd be able to remember the array and handed him his journal back again. She was fascinated by it, to be honest, and she hadn't only memorized the center of it. Something like this – a trap that totally incapacitated any intruder, was priceless and she really wondered why he trusted her with information like that, but was really grateful _that_ he did.

"This is a really useful array", she noted and eyed him cautiously, "How does it work – is it automatically activated if the door's opened without drawing the array on a special spot first?"

He shook his head and kept his look ahead while he explained. "You have to activate it beforehand – it's only triggered by the forced entrance", he told her calmly and slipped out of his coat to put it in its usual place at the foot of a tree, when they'd finally reached their destination. "The center part of the actual array tells the transmutation circle which information to look for. It is placed where you intend to draw the code later – and another independent array on the inside is triggered if the door is opened without receiving the information first. The second one can be anything really, and only needs to have a part implemented that allows the array at the door to have access to it."

"And if there's more than just one intruder? Are they both caught then, or can the second one easily step in as soon as she first is wrapped?"

"The second one could step in – but would be caught by one of the other arrays I had prepared", he explained calmly. "The only problem would be flying daggers – if the second one darts a kunai at me while I'm sleeping, an array wouldn't be much of a help…"

She contemplated his words a few moments. If daggers still posed a threat, he couldn't be satisfied with his safety precautions. But he'd told her about arrays that could alter the composition of the air above them when they were triggered – hell, there were apparently even some that could be triggered by sound alone! There _must_ have been some way to stop something as simple as kunais!

"You once told me, that you enforced your windows with more iron", she started thoughtfully, her eyes absentmindedly fixed on a patch of grass between them, "Couldn't you do the same with the floor as well – just, I don't know… Use something with magnetic abilities?"

When she looked up at him expectantly, she found him staring at her as if she'd grown another head. "Did I say something wrong?", she asked cautiously, feeling a crease forming between her eyebrows. Had this been a dumb question?

"No – not at all, that idea is brilliant! I didn't think about something like that at all!", he admitted and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It's just that… Well in my special case I can't use such a trap – but if you want, I could draw you one you could install in your apartment. I mean you probably already have several traps and all – just, you know, if you want. It wouldn't be a big deal and you can never have enough traps for intruders… Sorry, I'm rambling again."

She only chuckled and felt a smile tug on her lips. "That would be great – thank you, Edward." The way his cheeks blushed a bit at that, while he mumbled something under his breath, she couldn't quite understand, was really adorable, she had to admit.

When he fetched his journal again, he immediately skimmed to the first blank page and started to draw. Ass soon as he was done, he ripped it out of the book and handed it to her. "This should do the trick. You either need to buy several pounds of iron and barium to place in the circles – I'd draw several around my bed, if I were you – or I can show you other arrays to draw the materials out of the ground", he offered, while she studied the transmutation circle.

"I'd like to see these other arrays, if you don't mind", she admitted and so their morning progressed, without any mention of jutsus or chakra – as it should've been the case. When she was satisfied with the information about the other arrays he'd prepared in his flat as well, it was already noon, and she felt a bit bad for not teaching him anything and instead demanding he told her more about alchemy – as if he hadn't done enough of that the previous days...

"I'm sorry I wasted your time like this – we really should start with your chakra-control training now", she admitted sheepishly, before she glared demonstratively at Edward's boots, "I know I repeat myself, but I'm _positive_ that it would be _much_ easier for you if you just tried it barefoot – at least for the first few times."

"And I know I repeat myself, if I tell you that my footwear has nothing to do with my inability to walk up this tree", he sighed and rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. But then he suddenly froze for a moment, before he slowly lowered his arm, a grin spreading on his face. "I've got an idea – let me try something."

She only nodded a bit confused and he immediately interlaced the fingers of both of his hands to stretch one time, before he placed his palms flat against the bark. Was he seriously trying to walk up that tree on his _hands_? And why exactly did he think that would make things any easier!?

Sakura snorted when he closed his eyes, obviously concentrating on his chakra flow and he sent her a brief narrow eyed glare before he focused on his task again. She didn't even have the time to drop the flippant comment hat had been on the ip of her tongue, as his body already tensed and aligned with the ground below him. Her mouth involuntarily slacked and she could only stare in disbelieve, while he indeed managed to make a few _'steps'_ upwards with his hands, until he reached a strong branch about ten feet above the ground. He pushed himself off the bark and jumped to sit on it, dangling his feet playfully while he stared down at her with a huge grin.

"You've got to be kidding me!?"

∴∇Δ∇Δ∇Δ∇∴

She almost felt a bit bad when she went to the former Uchiha compound after their training. Edward had asked her to accompany him to their weekly gathering at the _'Spinning Shuriken'_. Apparently it was one of his two nights off and he usually met Naruto and a few others there – he also told her Ino would be there too.

She hadn't had much time for her best friend since Sasuke came back. No. To be completely honest, she hadn't had any time at all – it really wouldn't have hurt to go with the Alchemist, but...

Yeah...Sasuke. She had a habit of putting her former teammate first.

Sighing, she knocked onto his door, prepared that he'd open it even before her knuckles would've touched the wood for the third time. But to her surprise, it remained closed this time around.

A frown was tugging at her features, when she tried it once more, calling out his name as well and asking him to open the door. But again it didn't budge.

Worrying her lip between her teeth, she accepted that he probably wasn't home and turned to make her way to the pub Edward had invited her to. Naruto would be there as well – maybe he had an idea where Sasuke could be...

She usually avoided such establishments, as she got a lot of unwanted attention whenever she stepped a foot into them. It wasn't like she didn't appreciate a few honest sounding compliments about her appearance, but when it became too personal or her private space was invaded, it _always_ made her rather uncomfortable – no matter how she'd intended to act beforehand, or how handsome her opposite was.

So it wasn't exactly surprising for her, when she felt a lump forming in her throat, as soon as she entered the pub. Despite the fact that it was still rather bright outside, not much of the light reached the room though the few tiny windows, and though the lamps where already switched on, they only provided dim light.

When her glance roamed about the room and hit the bar, she noticed that the real owner – Ren's father – was bartending for once. His son was probably still out for it – like Edward had told her he'd be – or at least not able to do it himself at the moment...

She was relieved that Naruto, Ino and Edward had such light and noticeable hair colors, otherwise it would probably have taken her longer to find them among all the other people. To be honest, she was kind of surprised how crowded it already was – she would've expected much a quieter ambience at such an hour...

When she advanced their table, she couldn't contain a gasp, as soon as she realized that the reason she came here in the first place sat there, drinking sake as if it would be the most normal thing in the world.

When the hell had Sasuke become interested in _socializing_?!

"Hey guys – mind if I join you?", she asked when she reached the table. Edward – who had already invited her and should therefore have no objections – was unfortunately preoccupied with a script (probably something chakra or jutsu related) he was currently hunched over. But she hoped that either Ino or Naruto would invite her...

"Sakura – nice to see you! Of course you can join us!", Naruto exclaimed and beamed at her as if she'd just brought him a bowl of ramen, before he quickly slid a bit deeper into the booth to make room for her.

"Thanks."

She'd just made herself comfortable, when the waitress already hurried to their table to ask for her order.

"I'd like to have some sake please – the one Tsunade usually drinks", she specified with a small smile and the woman nodded enthusiastically, scribbling at her notepad before she looked around one expectantly.

"Get me some more beer please", Kiba piped up and with a gesture towards Edward (who was still absorbed in whatever he was reading) he continued in amusement, "And one for him too, Ayumi!"

"Will do!", she laughed and as everyone else was still nipping at their drink, she turned to get their orders.

Ino, Sai and Naruto fell back into their previous conversation, which obviously involved Lee and the question if he had a love-interest in Rain, or not. Naruto and Ino were pro, while Sai was clearly contra and Sasuke – who sat in between – listened patiently, but with a bored expression on his face.

"What's he studying there?", Sakura asked Kiba, who sat beside Edward opposite of her, and gestured to said blonde, to have something else on her mind than her former teammate

"Oh, he just received a letter from Al when he was on his way here", Kiba shrugged, seemingly disinterested. "Can't read a word though, 's written in a different script", he grumbled almost sounding a bit peeved.

"Who's _Al_?", she asked confused and Kiba's eyes immediately widened in disbelief.

"Don't tell me you don't know about Al?!", he exclaimed incredulously and pointed an accusing finger at her. His raised voice had obviously attracted the others' attention as well, silencing their conversation. All eyes – except Edward's of course – were on her now and the rather disappointed stares she received, made her more uncomfortable by the second.

"Al's his _brother_ , Sakura!", Naruto told her with a frown, "You worked with him on a daily basis for the past four months – why don't you _know_ that?!"

"We don't talk about such things!", she immediately defended herself and sputtered, "He also doesn't know much about me!" She thought that would settle this particular topic, but the grim expressions her friends were still regarding her with, told her otherwise.

"But not because I didn't try!", Edward suddenly chimed in and lifted his head. His eyes weren't taunting and disappointed like the others', but they seemed a bit weary. He briefly darted the waitress a thankful smile, when she placed their drinks in front of them, before he concentrated on her once more. "And when you didn't provide any information, I tried other sources", he told her with a shrug, before he turned to his letter again.

How long was it anyway? Had his brother written a book?! – He should've been finished with it ages ago!

"Wait a second", she muttered and frowned when his words finally sunk in, "Does this mean-"

"He can be really persistent!", Kiba suddenly informed her and lifted his arms in a defensive manner, as if he expected her to hit him any moment. Which she wouldn't entirely rule out as things were at the moment...

"Yeah – and he mixes really damn good cocktails if Ren lets him", Naruto informed her sheepishly, scratching the back of his head guiltily.

"Good to know that you respect a friends privacy!", she deadpanned, "At least you have principles…" Her voice was oozing with sarcasm and both Kiba and Naruto winced at the jibe.

"Oh – come on now! I don't know why you're making such a fuss about it", Naruto whined, "It's not like he's a stranger! Why didn't you tell him a bit about your life in the first place?"

"It's none of your business Naruto and I'd really appreciate it if you could shut your mouth about my life in the future!", she hissed and downed her glass of sake in one go. She really didn't like where this conversation was heading – and she really could've done without one of Naruto's attempts to bring them closer. Hell – he could be almost as annoying as Kakashi when it came to meddling in her life…

"I totally understand that she doesn't want to mix work with her private life – it would only complicate things between them", Sasuke suddenly spoke his mind, and she could've kissed him in that moment, hadn't he sat out of reach. At least one person was on her side!

"What the _hell_ dude? Why would their friendship complicate things?!", Naruto asked bewildered and shook his head in disbelief. "You can't be serious, man!", Kiba agreed with a grunt and both stared at Sasuke expectantly, obviously waiting for some kind of elaboration. The Uchiha seemed unimpressed and only glanced from the seemingly disinterested Edward to Sakura and back.

" _Friendship_ wouldn't be a problem, but if it became more, it could surely cause some trouble", he replied smoothly, his eyes resting on Sakura now, and she felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"What the-!", she sputtered, flustered, "Are you implying that-"

"-there _is_ a certain spark", he interrupted her calmly and she felt her mouth slack for a moment, before she composed herself again. Her eyes involuntarily darted to Edward for support, but he seemed oblivious to the conversation, which only caused her to huff in disappointment. Of _course_ he had better things to, than to defend themselves!

"I have absolutely _no_ idea what you're talking about!", she told him in an _'end-of-discussion'_ tone and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

But unfortunately he obviously didn't get the hint – or ignored it for that matter...

"From what I heard about him, he's intellectually at least on your level – whatever he did to my wounds, worked really well, so it's save to say he knows a thing or two about medicine as well", he pointed out in a matter of fact voice and pierced her with her glare. "Besides the already mentioned similarities, you both seem to have a strong desire to keep learning whatever you can get your hands on – and, most importantly, he's stubborn enough to defy you", he continued to list and suddenly a smirk appeared on his lips. "You'd surely make a fine pair."

Once again she felt her mouth opening and closing involuntarily, not able to find the right words. Why the hell didn't Edward say anything? Why couldn't he wait to read the letter of his brother another time and listen to their conversation?! It was important – damnit!

When she accepted that her desperate looks darted towards said blonde probably wouldn't help her case, she rubbed her hand tiredly over her face and sighed. "You've got to be kidding me...", was all she could come up with, her growling tone not nearly as sharp as she would've liked.

She'd almost gotten used to the fact that her closest friend seemed to have nothing better to do with their spare time than to meddle in her life. But Sasuke!?

Why did _he_ – of all people – need to jump on the bandwagon?!

* * *

 **AN:** hey guys - I hope you liked the chapter ;) The next one will be out of Ed's POV again :)

A big thanks to **AdrienVictus, Evinco** and **KorraPanera** for their lovely reviews :)

Thanks for reading and hopefully till the next chapter ;)  
~ Orange


	8. How To Face Truths II

...

" _Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option."  
_ ― _**Mark Twain**_

 _ **...**_

 **Lesson 8: How to face truths that aren't easily accepted**

Ed really had to thank whatever fucking miracle had caused Konoha's Kage to accept his bargain. He definitely could've had it worse...

Fire country had a pretty comfortable/decent climate he really could've gotten used to. Despite the fact that winter was rolling in with a definitely _cooler_ weather, it was not as rainy as in Central (with the occasional snowfall) around this time of year – and _way_ less hostile to life than the biting cold up north, near the Briggs mountains.

Of course he still wore the light automail Winry had crafted for him, when he and Al had been held _'hostages'_ by the Ice Queen; it had definitely made his journey through the desert easier as well, as its higher amount of carbon, was generally more weather-resistant than his former steel-automail had been – not only maintaining a much more constant temperature in cold, but also in hot climate.

But despite his automail not posing any problem, he was glad he didn't need to freeze his ass off while training with Sakura. The cooler climate still bit mercilessly at his stump, where the port met his scarred flesh, whenever he was reckless enough to spent too much time out in the fresh air; his left leg (or what was left of it...) always needed special attention after such situations – which often required long hot showers and warm-pads wrapped around his thigh.

Apparently his automail leg wasn't only causing him some inconvenience though, but also major setbacks when it came to his chakra-control training. Hell – for all he knew he could have had his first successes weeks ago already, if he'd known that it wouldn't work with his artificial leg. The idea should've come to his mind much sooner though. He'd been convinced the wires responsible for the forwarding of his nerve impulses would be able to do the same with his chakra as well.

Well, they did not – he knew that now. Still – he'd probably wasted an unnecessary amount of time and that pissed him off. Fuck his damn over-confidence…

Due to the inability of his automail leg to forward chakra, he'd had to concentrate on exercises he could work out with his hands rather than his legs, hoping this would speed things up again. As it turned out, this proved to be some kind of problem though, as the normal procedure would've included, that he learned to walk on water as well – as Sakura had informed him rather firmly. But somehow he'd managed to convince her (after several tiring... _conversations_ ) that it would suffice if he practiced his chakra control with his hands – varying from punching craters into the stonewall behind the village, to cracking eggshells only with a touch of his fingers; which he had to realize, was fucking _hard_ to do! Apparently Sakura strictly advocated the opinion, that the task wasn't successful, if only a single drop of its content was visible on the shell. She really just wanted a _crack_ – nothing more, nothing less; needless to mention that he ate a lot more scrambled eggs and pancakes for a while, than he really cared for.

At least they decided to hold their theoretic lessons inside, when the weather became colder – either in his or her apartment, as neither of them was overly comfortable with the idea of anyone listening into their conversations. She'd started to tell him about the differences of nin-, gen-, fuuin- and tai-jutsu and also showed him some easy techniques she intended to teach him. In his opinion she could've done that a lot sooner, as he was definitely a damn lot more motivated, now that he had an idea what _exactly_ he'd learn.

It also was a nice bonus to finally know where to find her (other than at the hospital, of course), if he ever needed to get a hold of her. Her address had remained somewhat of a mystery to him the past few months, neither Naruto nor the woman herself had showed any intention to solve over the past few months.

But this new arrangement inevitably caused their chemistry to change and though he enjoyed the casual hospitality Sakura showed whenever the lessons were held at her place, as well as the times he could convince her to taste some of his cooking whenever they were at his apartment, he wasn't entirely sure, if this development in general was a good idea…

The closeness during their theoretical lessons – which often required them to sit shoulder to shoulder (as Sakura's couch wasn't the biggest and his apartment generally not exactly a space miracle) – or whenever he needed to touch her – for such simple and theoretically rather innocent tasks, as to borrow her chalk, for example – was slowly getting to him.

It wasn't such a big deal to brush his fingers along whatever part of her body was easiest to hit every once in a while, during one of their sparring sessions – as he really had other things on his mind in such situations; how the fuck to dodge her next punch without loosing his balance, for example – or how to draw her attention to his right foot whenever he had a feeling she intended to attack his legs next.

He still had no fucking idea how to explain the absence of blood, should she ever manage to land a kunai in his left calve, so he better made damn sure it wouldn't ever come to that.

The problem of their private meetings at one of their places remained though, as he found himself more often than not, wondering what her smooth looking skin would feel like if he brushed his fingers along her throat and if she – as a kunoichi – perhaps hid a few scars beneath her clothes. It was entirely possible that she'd been skilled enough to avoid a serious wound so far, but after hearing some of the village's recent history and especially after being filled in about some details of their fight against a _goddess_ even – he thought it was reasonable to doubt that.

Once he even caught himself with his hand halfway about to brush her hair behind her ear. Fortunately he'd realized his lapse in time, before he really went through with it, or she got the idea to look up from her array or whatever her attention had been focused on and became aware of his rather moronic (and quite suicidal) intention of invading her private space.

But ever so often he found his eyes lingering on her, usually as soon as she averted her face to concentrate on something else; at least his subconscious cared enough for his wellbeing, to make sure she wouldn't be aware of his glances. He had absolutely no idea how the fuck he'd managed to hide any of his inner conflicts from her so far – especially whenever his idiotic brain became too enthralled with her freakishly pink hair and conjured such inappropriate thoughts up, as the question whether or not it would look the same color on _every_ part of her body…

Such trains of thought opened a whole other fucking can of worms and he usually needed to change his position, or was even forced to cross his legs. Wether she was really oblivious or just tried to ignore the problem, he wasn't entirely sure of – but he was glad about it either way.

He himself being painfully aware of his inappropriate thoughts, was bad enough – as they usually made the rest of their lesson exceedingly uncomfortable for him. More often than not, he had to take care of the problem as soon as she'd left or he could return to his own apartment, as he knew from experience that such phantasies pestered him like a fucking plague, once his mind had strayed to such topics and ignoring the resulting problem wouldn't be an option.

The busy shifts at the pub, as well as his evenings in the company of his friends were fortunately able to get his mind off of Sakura relatively easily though. The patrons entertained him with their usual banter (the one or other even helping him to unwind in a more physical sense), while Naruto and Kiba managed to distract him with their unique attitudes; the blond always telling him enthusiastically about his day at the office with a huge, fucking _contagious_ grin – sometimes lighting Ed's mood with some details on the more ridiculous missions he had to give out; Dog-man with his bold and exaggerated way of making the most boring stories into thrilling tales about crimes – not too seldom also involving intrigues and sex.

Sometimes Ed really wondered if ninja had been the right job-choice for Kiba – he definitely could've been a successful author of cheap romance novels as well (such as the kind Al had had a weakness for, back in the days when he'd still been a suit of armor; the fool probably believed to this day that Ed hadn't ever caught him reading one of those).

But the fact that Sakura had decided to join their weekly gatherings lately, was taking a fucking lot out of his comfort – especially that one time when Ino had the absolutely _brilliant_ Idea to play a drinking-game...

He better should've left right away. Hell – he should have ran as fast as his metal leg allowed! Why the fuck had he stayed though?!

"Never was I ever self conscious about my forehead", the blonde started, as soon as everyone had a shot-glass of shochu placed in front of them, three full bottles in the center of the table already prepared for the refilling. The way Ino smirked at Sakura caused everyone else to focus their attention on her as well, before the medic-nin scowled at her friend and swallowed her drink in one go.

"Never have I ever had issues about my weight, when I was a kid", Sakura continued, now smirking almost as smugly as Ino had before, while she watched the blonde drink her own shot in return. But to Ed's surprise she wasn't the only one who did so, as Chouji had emptied his glass as well. He'd never pegged him to be the kind of man who gave a fuck about appearances, but Ed guessed he'd probably had to suffer some quite rude comments from others – at least when he'd been a kid.

After sheepishly glancing around, Chouji was the one who continued with "Never have I ever preferred ramen over Korean barbecue!" – which of course prompted Naruto to drown his drink. He was the first who didn't seem pissed and actually even enjoyed the attention. No surprise there though – since he'd been a child, the man had had the habit to tell everyone who bothered to listen (probably also many who didn't) he'd be Hokage some day; not exactly the behavior of someone who shied away from attention...

"Never have I ever taken longer than fifteen minutes in the bathroom!", he stated as soon as he'd placed his glass on the table again, darting a sidelong glance at Hinata, the corner of his mouth twitching as if he had trouble to keep from grinning. All women on the table drowned their (next) shot of shochu without many complaints (though the Hyuga heiress smacked Naruto almost affectionately on the back of his head before she did so).

"Never have I ever had a crush on one of our Senseis!", she continued the game, which caused the other three women to grown in defeat, before they refilled their glasses yet again. Ed chuckled in surprise as he watched how even Kiba, Lee and Chouji drowned their shots, but it stuck in his throat, as soon as he became aware of Sakura's intense glare focused on him.

One of her eyebrows was cocked in a manner that told him whatever dubious stuff she had on her mind would do him no fucking good. He immediately felt the irrational urge to swallow, already sensing his impending doom, but managed to force it back. He had no fucking idea why this woman had the ability to make him feel so damn uneasy with a simple stare! He usually wasn't cowed easily, but Sakura pulled it off effortlessly and even perfected it to an art form...

"Shouldn't you drink as well?", she asked innocently, her voice mockingly saccharine, which involuntarily caused him to glare at her in defense. He had no fucking idea what she was talking about – at least until she brushed her pointer finger ever so slowly from her forehead, over her left eye down to her cheek demonstratively, a mischievous smirk playing around her lips all the while.

And hell – did his damn cheeks heat up when he finally realized what she was getting at. "The fucker told you?!", he exclaimed in disbelief, receiving only a smirk and a nod.

Damn, this wasn't good… But at least Ed knew for sure now, that he'd indeed been much too transparent for Mask-man.

He was vaguely aware that the whole table was staring at him, while he reluctantly drowned his glass, which inevitably caused him to snap a "What the fuck are you staring at!?" at the next best person (which fortunately happened to be Sai – so he probably wouldn't have to face any repercussions from his little outburst).

To his relief Kiba broke the awkward silence that settled after he'd snapped at Mr. Oblivious with the next statement for their game – which was accompanied by a meaningful wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Never have I ever disappointed with my sexual prowess!"

Tenten and Hinata only rolled their eyes, while Ino and Sakura snorted in disbelieve, looking at one another with an amused grin when they realized that they had reacted the same at almost the same time.

Ed wasn't even a _bit_ embarrassed when he drowned his glass in one go, as he really had had more important things in mind when he first started to become sexually active. The selfish desire to satisfy his needs had been the first and foremost task to deal with whenever he felt his concentration slacking. It really helped to set his priorities right – which, at that time, had mostly been the question how the fuck to get rid of Father and his pawns without getting himself or any of his important people killed...

Now that he thought about it, he had to admit that Greed had been really lenient with him, the first few times they got it on – he hadn't even wasted a single thought about reciprocating any of the things the guy did to him in the beginning. Actually rather funny – how _he_ had been the greedy bastard in their temporary relationship.

When he looked around one, he was faced with a few cocked eyebrows, but he only shrugged nonchalantly, not in the mood to elaborate on his first sexual encounters; it simply wasn't any of their business.

He was already thinking of the next statement to continue their game, when he realized that Chouji as well as Sai reluctantly lifted their glasses as well now. Ino was whispering something into Mr. Blunt's ear when he'd placed it on the table again and if the small smile and brief flicker of his eyes to her were anything to go by, it had probably been something comforting.

Aware that now that they had reached the topic the questions should be concentrating on, he cleared his throat and fixated Kiba with a wry grin. "Never have I ever had anything with someone I'm related to!"

"Fuck – dude! Did you really have to say this?!", he exclaimed irritably and grabbed his glass angrily, before he drowned it in one go. "I didn't even know it until she told me her family name – _afterwards_!", he growled defensively when he smacked the glass on the table again, "How the hell could I've known that she was a second cousin of me? Haven't seen the girl since she was five – she changed quite a bit, you see!"

The whole table was laughing now – more because of his upset ranting than the topic itself. "Calm down man – it's not such a big deal! Not so long ago it would've been common practice to marry people off within their families", Ed pointed out soothingly and regarded Kiba with an apologetic grin.

Dog-man only huffed and crossed his arms grumpily in front of his chest. "At least I've never done it with a man – and that's my next statement by the way!" He really acted like such a child sometimes...

Shaking his head in disbelief Ed lifted his glass yet another time with a soft chuckle. He was almost a bit surprised by the big eyes some of the people around him regarded him with – Tenten and Hinata being the ones who seemed most shocked of all. But he could've sworn he saw one of the Uchiha's eyes twitch in surprise as well, before he sported his trademark expression again – _bored as hell,_ or rather: _too cool to show any emotion_.

By the speed news traveled from one side of this village to the other (within the matter of minutes – depending on the content of the information of course), he would've thought everyone knew about his habit of taking some of the bar's customers up on their offers – male and female alike. But obviously some of his friends and acquaintances either weren't as interested in gossip, or didn't believe everything they heard – and the latter he definitely could relate to; he'd been the topic of such stories one too many times to pay them any heed anymore...

The conversation he'd had with Ren before he'd disappeared with one of their customers in the alley behind the bar for the first time (after his shift had already ended of course!), had been a rather brief one. His boss had only cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at him and stated: "We're not some fancy upper class venue. If we had any such policy I would've had to look in another village for a girl!" He better should've done exactly that – the one he'd been with back then, was an insensitive bitch...

Ed watched with mild amusement as the women drowned their drinks as well (Ino and Sakura already growling in annoyance). He also noticed the blush that appeared on Hinata's cheeks, but by the sidelong glances she darted his way, the fact that she'd been forced to drink, was probably not the reason for her reaction. He just hoped she wouldn't get the idea he'd be interested in her man, just because he liked hanging out with him – he'd had to deal with such idiotic ideas born out of jealousy in the past, and if he had to deal with such a situation never again, it was still too soon...

He was vaguely aware, that his peripheral vision wasn't in prime condition any more, which only confirmed his suspicion, that the amounts of alcohol he'd already consumed were indeed slowly getting to him – he was down a leg after all. But as he supposed he wasn't the only one feeling that way, he dismissed it for the time being and observed the others instead, looking for any signs of intoxication on their part.

Ino, Sakura and his humble self _'lead'_ with three shots each so far, but neither the pink haired nor the blonde kunoichi showed any hint of tipsiness. Sakura was staring rather grimly at her already refilled glass though, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth – which in return worried him, for entirely different reasons...

He swallowed uncomfortably and forced himself to look someplace else, as he really didn't want to risk the chance of finding himself bent over the table, trying to coax that tantalizing mouth open with his own. He didn't trust himself not to do anything idiotic in the state he was in (tipsy and all... it was definitely just the alcohol causing such thoughts!) and she'd certainly have him pinned to the ground with a painfully red replica of her hand on his cheek within the matter of seconds...

"And to get back at you for this silly statement: Never have I ever had anything with a woman!", Tenten announced with her hand outstretched and pointing at Dog-man, a vindictive expression on her face. The men at the table lifted their glasses obediently – Ino as well, to pretty much everyone's surprise as it seemed – and drowned their drinks.

The blond kunoichi didn't really seem embarrassed, but she shifted a bit uncomfortably in her seat. Ed was actually almost shocked that Mr. Oblivious apparently noticed that much, as he whispered something into her ear then, which caused her to giggle at first, before she nudged his shoulder playfully.

"We should really get a bit more specific here – this isn't any fun so far", Sasuke stated with this annoyingly calm voice of his, and Ed couldn't help but roll his eyes. This guy was so fucking _cool_ , he sometimes wondered how he even managed to move at all… "Never have I ever pictured myself getting it on with Sakura!"

And _hell_ was Ed lucky that this game dictated when he took a sip of his drink, otherwise it would probably have been covering the table and the faces of the unfortunate people who sat opposite of him by then.

"What the _hell_ dude!", Naruto exclaimed in a high pitched voice that caused some of them to chuckle, but Ed was much too concerned about the situation he'd been confronted with, to care.

"Fine – within the last few months, are you happy now?", the Uchiha corrected with something that could've been the hint of a smirk (with a hell of a lot imagination). "Never have I ever pictured myself getting it on with Sakura – within the last few months!", he repeated the whole sentence to clear up any possible misunderstandings. The fucker was staring straight at Ed then, as if he'd be aware of his little predicament now and Ed couldn't help but dart a brief glance in Sakura's direction-

– who was fortunately blocking her eyes with her hand, groaning in annoyance about this stupid game. He quickly grabbed his glass and emptied it in one go, but probably used a bit more force than strictly would've been necessary, when he placed it on the table again. Of course he hadn't been the only one drinking this time around – actually Sasuke himself had drowned his glass as well, but the smug expression the fucker regarded him with really pissed him off.

"I've got enough for one night – I'm out", Ed grunted and got up from his seat leaving a few bills on the table to cover his share.

"Oh – come _on_ , it's still _early_!", Kiba whined, while Naruto regarded him with a worried expression. The blonde was apparently more perceptive then most people gave him credit for, but Ed _really_ didn't want to discuss this right there.

"Yeah – but I've already had too much. I don't hold my alcohol too well", Ed pointed out, and though he was aware that this had been a rather lame excuse, fortunately nobody tried to talk him into staying. He shrugged into his waistcoat with a relieved sigh and turned to leave, only lifting a hand in a farewell gesture while he swayed (not even much exaggerated, he had to admit) towards the exit.

Only when he'd almost reached the door, someone grabbed his arm and slipped their own through his. His senses _really_ weren't top-notch at the moment, if he hadn't seen _that_ coming…

"We head in the same direction for a few blocks", Sakura pointed out when he regarded her with a cocked eyebrow. She was right of course, and as he didn't have the energy for much of a discussion in that moment – even if she probably was the absolute _last_ person he should be with right then – he only sighed in defeat before he turned to head in the direction of their apartments.

"You've seemed a bit worried back there...", he tried to start a conversation, despite his better judgement. Her eyes briefly met his, mirroring a bit of the anxiety he'd seen there earlier, before she bit on her bottom lip again and stared stubbornly to the ground.

Well – at least she hadn't tried to take him for a fool by denying it…

"I'm sorry. It's none of my business, of course", he tried to excuse his nosiness and thought it would be done with that. He was a bit surprised, when Sakura actually shook her head and broke the silence between them after a last moment of hesitation.

"It's just – it's something rather private. I don't know if you really want to hear...", she muttered, her eyes still focussing on the path in front of them.

"If you _want_ to tell me, I'll gladly listen", Ed assured her, examining her carefully out of the corner of his eyes. He was slowly starting to worry about the topic of her story – or rather, if he'd be able to react accordingly to it. He was known for his absolutely inappropriate comments whenever someone managed to make him uncomfortable and he somehow had the feeling this story had potential to do exactly that…

Sakura turned her head to face him for a moment and stopped in her tracks, regarding him with critical eyes – probably to gauge if he'd been honest with her. But she seemed to be satisfied by whatever she found, as she exhaled a heavy sigh and started to walk again, before she finally began to talk, while he silently kept up with her.

"You know I've been a kunoichi for quite a long time already. There are missions I feel more comfortable with than others – and there are missions I wouldn't even wish upon my worst enemy.

"When I was about 16 the village was destroyed by Pain – you probably heard about that. Tsunade used a jutsu that cost her too much chakra and she fell into a coma for several months – leaving one of the most merciless people in charge I've ever had to deal with. At that time I was assigned to an undercover mission..."

She paused and they quietly continued their walk for a few minutes, until Ed couldn't bare it any longer. " _Undercover_ sounds bad...", he stated with a deep frown, seriously worried now, as he had a feeling her story wouldn't end well. He already had an idea about its content as well, because of the topic the question's were headed during that stupid drinking game, at the time when she first seemed to become upset.

But he really hoped he had misinterpreted the reaction…

"Yes. If undercover missions go wrong it almost always implicates the death of the ninja. But mine didn't go wrong – just not according to plan. I was working at a bar – just like you do now – only that it was a rather seedy place and known for the shady dealings going on there. That was actually also the reason why I was there – to listen into some of them, but that's not the point now…

"Sometimes the men in the bar got a bit too interested in me for my liking, but most of the time they didn't really do anything. Every now and then though, my temporary boss and some of his underlings took a liking to… _watching_ , you know… I couldn't even do anything against it – it would've blown my cover! But that's the worst part about it: I know I'd have been able to take at least some of them out, probably enough to manage an escape – but it wouldn't have been easy to get access to them again afterwards without causing suspicion. And I'd already been so damn close…"

"Fuck! Sakura-", he started helplessly, but didn't really know what to say. Only then he realized that his free hand had involuntarily found its way to his mouth, clasping it in a manner of absolute horror, and forced it down to side again, his fingers balled to a tight fist.

This was even worse than he'd thought, as it sounded like it hadn't happened just once… "How often?", he managed to croak out, his voice just as shaky as the rest of his body felt at that moment.

"Fourteen times", she muttered weakly.

He inhaled sharply at the sheer number and stopped in his tracks, unable to move even a single step further. Fuck – _fourteen_ times… "You say you were about 16", he began hesitantly, "– please don't tell me you were-"

"Yes – I was a virgin", she interrupted him with a groan, before he could've voiced it and buried her face in her hands, as if she'd be embarrassed rather than upset because this stupid, _stupid_ game had reminded her of such a horrible experience.

"Fuck!", he cursed and kicked his automail foot against the ground, as if the punch could've chased his thoughts away. The pictures that involuntarily formed in his mind's eye were so fucking horrible – though sadly, most likely rather accurate…

His whole body trembled – probably because he was so fucking disgusted by those bastards that it even affected his circulatory system. He also felt rather nauseous all of a sudden – and the fact that he'd already had one too many glasses of shochu, probably didn't exactly help in that case…

"But you got the fuckers – your mission was a success and you took them out, right?", he asked, his voice almost pleading her to say _yes_. But the fact that she still wouldn't look at him couldn't have been a good sign…

"The mission was a success – but the purpose had never been to kill or capture them", she muttered through her hands, which still hid her face. Despite (or maybe _because_ ) his body already working against him (shaky and nauseous as it was), he suddenly felt a strong urge to just wrap his arms around her; to simply hug her to him and shield her from anything else – but he supposed that would've made things only worse in this particular situation...

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry if I upset you even more with my stupid questions", he apologized helplessly, having absolutely no idea what to do with his hands, until he decided to simply bury them in his pockets.

This was so _damn_ weird.

She'd been been distant to him for as long as he'd known her – as if she wanted to keep an invisible wall between them, always holding him at least at arms length. And now, she confided something so very personal in him all of a sudden?

How the fuck was he supposed to _act_ now?!

" _I'm_ sorry – I don't even know why I _told_ you!", she exclaimed, even more upset now – if her high pitched voice and fierce expression were anything to go by. But at least she'd lowered her hands to her sides again so he could see her face again; that was at _something_. "People always keep telling me to _talk_ about it – I don't even know how often I heard that this would make things easier. But how the hell should that change anything?! All it did was making me feel even more frustrated and probably ruin our relationship!"

"Why would that ruin our relationship?", he blurted out incredulously and stared her disbelievingly. Sakura groaned frustratedly and pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment, before she took a deep breath and lowered her hand again.

"Look at you – you _pity_ me! I don't need your pity – I don't _want_ your pity!", she shouted now, causing Ed to take a startled step back. "I'm strong enough to look out for myself – and its my own fault that it happened in the first place – there's nothing to pity here!"

"How the hell has this been _your_ fault?", he retorted, his voice equally loud now, while he glared at her with furrowed eyebrows. He was really curious how she'd answer that one now…

"Well first: I could've said _'no'_ , when I was assigned to that mission – I knew it would be risky, but I still accepted", she spat, tipping her left forefinger with her right as if there were a couple of other reasons to follow. Well – he was all ears now. "Second: I could've fought them off – I would've blown my cover, but I could've done that. Third: Maybe I should've tried to look less appealing – I mean, I didn't dress up of anything, but maybe- … I don't know – I could've used makeup to let me look paler; painted dark circles around my eyes or something. I-..."

"Sakura!", he barked, when he couldn't let her go on like that any more and closed the gap between them with a few quick strides. When he settled his hands on her shoulders, he made sure that she knew what he intended to do and wouldn't be startled. He was rather relieved that she didn't flinch when he touched her and exhaled a heavy sigh before he tried to reason with her in the calmest voice he could manage.

"Listen to me, please. What you're saying there is ridiculous! You couldn't have known that this would happen when you accepted the mission – and I suppose there probably would've been consequences if you'd declined. I mean – it sounds as if you'd known there was a certain risk from the start – but I _know_ you! You probably ran a rather thorough risk-benefit analysis in this pretty little head of yours", he guessed, and knocked affectionately with his knuckles against her scull for emphasis, which even educed a faint chuckle from her. "But something caused you to accept – there had to be a reason for the decision you made and I can't imagine it was money. They probably threatened you – and the fact that you said the man in charge was one of the most merciless men you've ever dealt with, makes me pretty confident that I hit home there – am I right?"

Sakura was looking up at him now with her big emerald eyes, which only made him ache to just _hug_ her already even more. But her expression was calculating. She was probably debating which answer would shut him up more likely.

"Yes. I knew that I would've been forced to take the next mission – whatever it would've been – or I would've had to return my forehead-protector..."

She had lowered her eyes and was staring at his chest now, a small crinkle between her eyebrows betraying that she wasn't as content with their current conversation as she wanted him to believe. "You were forced to take that mission – or the next – or you wouldn't have been a ninja anymore", he repeated, just to be sure he understood her right and when she nodded he couldn't help but sigh.

"From my perspective it looks as if several people have been at fault here – but definitely not you", he told her in a low voice and lifted his right hand to brush his fingers soothingly through her hair. "The men in the bar you worked at of course. The fucker who assigned you to that mission – I don't suppose the Hokage himself is in charge for picking the right person for each mission, right? They just give their consent – or not – and he shouldn't have done that in your case."

"Why do you think so?", she asked quietly, still staring at his collarbone (?) but either she was oblivious to the fact that he was still caressing her hair, or she was okay with it.

"Well – have you been alone on that mission?"

"Yes – it wouldn't have come to that if there'd been anyone else..."

"Right. So, tell me – how often have you been on an undercover mission alone _before_?"

"…It was my first", she admitted a bit reluctantly.

"Right. And you were only 16."

"That doesn't mean anything – Kakashi was already an Anbu member at that age! I couldn't just hide behind my age!", she countered fiercely and glared defiantly up at him with alarmingly tear-dimmed eyes. But when he took a closer look he noted with relief, that at least her cheeks were still dry – so far at least…

"That's not what I mean. And from what I've heard about your current Hokage's past, it had been another time and different circumstances. What I wanted to say is, that there would've certainly been someone else who could've done the job – someone with more experience…not only as a _ninja_ , but as a _woman_."

Her head shot up in surprise, causing him to loose his grip on her hair for a moment, but he was so startled by her absolutely miserable expression that he froze in place. But as if her countenance wouldn't have been unnerving enough, he was forced to watch in horror how the first tears ran down her cheeks...

Shit – he'd make her cry! Why the hell was he such a fucking expert at making women cry!?

"I didn't mean to imply that there was anyone more capable than you – you'd probably have been able to beat the shit out of me even back then! I-… I just-", he tried to explain but stumbled over his own words, causing him to run his fingers frustratedly through his hair.

Why was it so hard for him to console someone other than Al? It had always been so easy with his brother. But that was probably only due to the fact that Al was used to interpret Ed's shit and always heard what he _wanted_ to say, not what _actually_ left his stupid mouth.

"Fuck – please don't cry, I'm sorry! ...I'm such an idiot! I'm so fucking bad at this shit...", he mumbled, more to himself before he lifted his hand and carefully raked his fingers through her hair again. The part of him that was still able to think rationally and hadn't totally freaked out (yet), was positively surprised that she hadn't pulled back, or shoved his hand aside so far; but he supposed it probably just felt as soothing to her, as it felt to him…

He barely managed to suppress a startled yelp, when Sakura suddenly flung her arms around his middle and buried her face in his chest. It took him an embarrassingly long moment to grasp the situation, but when he realized that she was _indeed_ clinging to him as if she feared she'd break down if she didn't (and not an alcohol induced hallucination or some shit), he engulfed her in a tight hug.

If he was a bit stiff at first, it was totally her fault! The aloof attitude she'd always so stubbornly maintained before, stood in such a stark contrast to what she'd shown him these past few minutes, he was surprised he didn't suffer whiplash yet. He just hoped she wouldn't return to her inapproachable manner by the next morning...

His chin was resting on the top if her head and his left hand cradled it to his neck, while his right moved in gentle circles over her back. "I'm sorry", Sakura mumbled after a while, "I ruined your shirt." He immediately let go of her when he felt her pulling back, but she only parted enough from him to look into his eyes. Suppressing a frown when he saw her damp face, he watched curiously as she lifted one of her hands to tug near his collarbone on the fabric of his shirt. After he'd glanced down at it a bit dumbfounded, to inspect the spot, he only shrugged when he discovered that her tears had obviously soaked it a bit there.

"Thats no problem at all", he assured her with a small smile and quickly clapped his hands, placing his palms against the fabric to activate the transmutation. Within seconds his shirt was as good as new, the sweat and tears that had cumulated throughout the day, evaporated without any effort at all.

"Sometimes I forget that you can work miracles", she chuckled wryly and shook her head in disbelief. Sakura lowered her glance to his collarbone once more and bit on her bottom lip. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, obviously debating wether or not she should tell him what else was on her mind, but eventually she added in a soft voice: "Thanks for listening. I really appreciate it."

He felt a small smile tug on the corners of his lips and brushed one of her pink tresses behind her ear absentmindedly. "What the hell are you thanking me for? – I'm glad you apparently trust me enough to tell me something like this. Thank _you"_ , he murmured and before he knew what he did, he had planted a small kiss on the cown of her head. He immediately tensed and froze in place when he realized his mistake, but when he felt her arms tightening around him once more, before she let go, he knew she wouldn't hold it against him – at least not for that moment...

∴∇Δ∇Δ∇Δ∇∴

The few days till the New Year's festival passed in a flash and he was glad that Sakura's forthcoming moment didn't change much about their routine – except maybe that ever now and then she told him in a bit more detail about her personal life (but that could've been imagination on his part as well).

When the evening of the 31st finally came, he was busy adjusting the last touches of his outfit. The group of them had decided they'd celebrate the new year together – all in festive robes. Suitable for the occasion he'd even contemplated to purchase a kimono. But it only took him a few moments of window-shopping to quickly abandon that idea again; the prices weren't exactly what he'd expected and he didn't intend to starve for the next months just for being able to show up in authentic clothing at the festival...

Ed had a jacket in his trunk, he could effortlessly transmute into a sack coat and corresponding pants weren't a problem as well, as he had some black trousers that would fit quite nicely. Somewhere in the depths of his suitcase even had to be a red tie too, so he hoped that would be sufficient – as he hadn't enough knowledge of traditional eastern clothing to alchemize his clothes into something he'd blend in with a bit better.

But as most people in the village already knew him and were aware of his Amestrian origin, he didn't think something resembling a suit would pose a problem. He'd worn his normal clothes for the past four months now and nobody had ever voiced any complaints – though he had to admit, that he _did_ stand out a bit with his reddish brown waistcoat and the leather pants he'd started to war again, when Sakura had started to spar with him regularly. They clung to him like a second skin, but weren't interfering with his movements like his normal trousers did.

But he'd decided to adapt at least a _bit_ , after he'd seen a few members of Anbu and transmuted himself some similar forearm protectors. He only wore them during their sparring sessions though, as he'd instinctively tried to deflect Sakura's kunais one too many times with his right arm (old habits die hard…) and he really didn't need any more scars on his body, than he already had… He forewent the shin protectors though, as they constrained his movement too much – though they would've been ideal to help him conceal his automail more effectively…

When he arrived at the appointed spot at the entrance of the festival grounds (which were mainly the districts around the Academy building), only Tenten, Lee and Chouji where there already. All three of them looked like totally different people – dressed up as they were, but Tenten definitely showed the most noticeable change, as she wore her hair mostly open for once.

It didn't take long until Sai and Ino arrived – with Kiba in tow, who they'd stumbled upon on their way there. If Dog-guy hadn't had his cheek tattoos, Ed probably wouldn't have recognized him at all. The man had obviously brushed his hair – probably for the first time since Ed had arrived at the village, as it wasn't nearly as shaggy as usual – and wore it in a low ponytail. If his hair had been a bit longer it probably would've looked almost like Ling's hairstyle.

Not long after them, Naruto arrived with Hinata and Sakura, who Ed greeted in Amestrian as they had started to switch to his mother tongue every now and then, after she'd asked him to practice a bit with her. Apparently she'd loaned all of the books regarding the language and its script, the Konohan library had to offer (which were _tremendous_ three pieces). They had helped her to learn the really basic stuff and their totally different writing system, but he basically had to start from scratch with her, when it came to every day conversation. Sometimes he feared it'd be a bit much for her – as she still had to practice and learn the alchemic stuff as well – but she insisted that they spoke at least two to three hours Amestrisian every day and seemed determined to become fluent in his language.

When she'd stopped right beside him, he had to force his gaze away from her, as he realized he was already on the verge of staring. But damn, she really looked exceptionally beautiful that evening. The dark red, tight fitting kimono with white embroideries she wore, hugged her figure just in the right places – and it couldn't have been too traditional – as it was definitely shorter than Hinata's or Tenten's and seemed to have less layers.

Her ensemble looked pretty much like the purple one Ino wore (though he had to note, that it looked much better on Sakura), but as he knew how close those two were, he assumed that they had probably shopped their clothes together. If the silk scarfs both of them wore additionally, were anything to go by, their sleeves were probably shorter than normal as well – which wasn't too bad a thing, as they probably would end up in one of the bars anyway and as it undoubtedly would get crowded, it would soon be boiling in there – no matter the temperatures outside (not too cold, but definitely unpleasant if you only wore a short sleeved dress).

"You really should've done something with your hair, Sakura", Ino chided, instead of greeting her friend, "It's much too ordinary to go with such an elegant kimono!"

"It's not like I can do much with my short hair!", Sakura barked at her, but blushed furiously nonetheless, "And I didn't have the time to look for a fancy hair clip that would fit!"

"No time my ass!", Ino replied dryly, "What the hell are you doing with your evenings anyway? Every time I ask you to go out with me you've got something better to do – I'm glad you leave your flat at least once a week as of late, but don't you think your turning into a loner with all the time you spend at your apartment?"

Sakura's cheeks turned an even darker shade of red at that accusation and she sputtered helplessly, obviously surprised at first, before she got a grip of herself again. "Excuse me, but I have other things to worry about than clothes and hairstyles!", she growled and pointedly strode around Ed to stand on his other side, bringing more space between herself and the blonde kunoichi.

They were all rather impatient already, when Sasuke finally strolled along – with a woman walking so close beside him, she seemed to be almost melting into his side. The way Sakura's lips turned into a thin line at their appearance, didn't go unnoticed by Ed, but he was intelligent enough not to comment on it. A bruised eye wouldn't look any better just because he wore a suit to it…

The night proceeded well enough though – no snarky comments from anyone, not too obvious dark glances in Mayuri's direction (that was the woman's name by the way; apparently she even was related to Sasuke somehow, but he didn't bother to dwell on the specifics – understandably...). Actually most of the group even made an effort to make her feel welcome and tried to involve her in their conversation – but as she wasn't much more communicative than Sasuke himself, that attempt wasn't exactly crowned with success…

They spent some time outside, playing some of the games – especially those which promised luck (not that Ed believed in any of that shit) and he had to admit he really had fun – despite the fact that Sakura was clearly moping, but that had been predictable when they saw Sasuke come along with some other girl.

With proceeding hours, the night became chillier and he found himself more and more often rubbing his scarred thigh absentmindedly. One of those times though, Hinata caught him at it and they briefly met eyes, before she simply stated, that it was getting cold and she'd have liked to get inside. Though he could of course have done that himself, he never liked it to be the cause of a change of location, which is why he was rather thankful for her caring gesture.

He made sure to brush past her, once they entered one of the pub's that wasn't too crowded yet, to make sure she'd hear his muttered _'thanks'_. She just nodded and gave him one of her warm smiles in return, reminding Ed once again why Hinata and Naruto just belonged together. She was the calm contrast to his exuberant energy – but both of them had such a kind and selfless way, that Edward was sure they would reach their goals – whatever they were. People like them had many friends after all and if just a few of them gave a tiny part of the kindness back, they'd received from the both of them over the years, it would surely ease their way.

Once they sat around a table, it pretty soon became apparent, that Sakura intended to get drunk – and fast. Ino and Naruto both tried to hold her back, but Ed didn't bother, as he was pretty sure she wouldn't listen to him anyway and all he'd probably receive for his trouble, was an elbow-kick in the side.

He had every intention on remaining sober to look after her though – who knew which ideas she'd get once she was drunk.

A few years back when he'd been to Creta, he'd had a rather alcohol heavy night with his friends. He couldn't even remember what exactly it had been they'd drunk all night, but when he woke up the next morning he found himself in jail; apparently he'd thought it was a good idea to go blank in the middle of the pub and had been arrested because of public indecency. Hell he didn't even know where his clothes got to and had been rather thankful for the prison rags they'd put him in...

"Are you a kunoichi?"

Sakura's blunt question interrupted their conversation rather rudely at one point (which Ed was quite thankful for, as it had regarded the question what he had to hide; apparently his unwillingness to visit the onsen was abnormal or something...), causing all eyes to concentrate on her – she on the other hand had focused her already slightly hazy gaze on Mayuri. Mr. Too-CoolTo-Talk's date seemed to be a bit startled at first, but quickly smoothed her features and smiled at her.

"No, I'm a simple salesclerk and work in a clothes store", she explained and chanced a brief glance at Sasuke, almost as if to make sure that her answer had been okay with him. He almost pitied the girl…

"Oh really?", Ino intercepted, apparently curious now, "Where exactly – and are you allowed to give discount prices for you friends?" When she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, to make even the slowest of them realize that she was talking about herself, Ed had to force a chuckle back. Because according to the way Sakura's mouth tensed into her usual unamused expression, such a reaction probably wouldn't have been much appreciated.

If the glare she shot at her blonde friend was anything to go by, she apparently she felt betrayed or something. She probably intended to appear reproachful but in combination with her hazy glance she looked rather ridiculous and this time around it really took Ed some effort to contain a chuckle.

But at least she kept to glaring daggers at Ino and Sasuke's 'plus one' and didn't bother to voice her displeasure – not even when the conversation fluently went from Mayuri's working conditions, over the shops the preferred to buy her clothes at to the street food she liked to buy whenever she was out on a shopping trip with her friends.

"We should head outside, or we'll miss the fireworks – it's almost midnight", Ed pointed out after the crowd thinned out enough for a second, to allow him a glimpse at the clock on the wall. Most of the others were a bit tipsy already and had been so immersed in their conversations, that they didn't even realize how much time had passed already. But they seemed to agree with him, as one after the other got up without complaints, until they elbowed their way towards the exit.

Outside it was even more crowded by then, but at least they didn't have to wait long until he heard the first bells chime in the distance and the people around them began to chant a countdown. He watched the fireworks with a strangely nostalgic feeling, reminded of the one New Year's eye he'd been able to celebrate with Mustang's crew, back when they'd still been stationed in the East. Havoc had shoved a flute of some prickly alcoholic brew (now he knew it had probably been Prosecco or even Champagne) into his startled hand and clinked their glasses before they'd drank to the New Year and its new opportunities to work towards their goal. Ed wondered if they'd managed it by then – if Colonel, or now rather _Brigadier General_ Bastard – had already become Fuhrer, but as soon as he realized where his thoughts strayed, he forced himself to concentrate on the present and watched with mingled feelings as the couples around him kissed while some others exchanged presents after wishing each other a happy new year.

He's just started to shake hands and exchange hugs on his own, but only made it to Naruto, Hinata and Chouji, before he was suddenly tackled from behind and two rather feminine looking arms sneaked around his torso.

"What the act-", he started and wheeled around to face whoever had thought it a good idea to startle him like that. It was practically impossible to read qui and predict single intentions aimed at his person in this crowd – overrun as his senses were with so many people around them.

"I'm glad I finally found you – I hope you didn't kiss anyone yet? I heard it's a rule where you come from, that you spend most of the time of the following year with the person you kiss at New Year's Eve", a sultry voice – much too familiar for his liking – interrupted him mid-word. He rolled his eyes in frustration when he finally looked into the corresponding face and sighed tiredly.

"That's the Aerugean way of seeing it – we Amestrians just see it as what it is. And I told you time and time again, that I'm not interested in a relationship", he explained in a slightly irritated voice, "I never pretended to be open for something more – it was just sex and I think I made that abundantly clear from the beginning!"

"Oh come on – we did it only two times! Don't tell me you don't think about a repeat every once in a while", she purred and pushed her rather voluminous rack against his chest. He managed only barely to keep from flinching and forced himself to place his hands firmly on her shoulders to shove her back a bit and allow him a bit more space.

"In all honesty? Not once – you keep reminding me why that particular idea wouldn't be a wise decision quite regularly", he informed her dryly, "I really don't want to be rude, but please stop bothering me. To be completely honest: I think twice was already two times too often in your special case..."

That finally stroke and he watched with some satisfaction as her face contorted rather unattractively. Hopefully she'd leave him alone from now on, he was already fed up to the back teeth with her annoyingly pushy attitude…

"You'll _rue_ this day, Elric", she spat, her dark brown eyes glaring at him angrily and he probably should've been thankful that she hadn't done it _literally_. "Don't come to me next time you're desperately looking for a fuck!"

"I think I'll manage that, Hibiko – have a nice night!", he offered sincerely, and stepped back to be swallowed by the crowd and look for the others. He'd noted that they went somewhere else, while he'd been occupied with this annoying woman, but he had no idea if they returned to the pub they'd stayed at, or to a totally different place.

It took him a wile to elbow his way back to their table, but he only found about half of the crew there. Ino, Sakura, Sasuke and Mayuri were gone and none of the others had any idea where they'd got to. With a frustrated groan he turned on his heels and headed outside again, to look for the missing four – or at least the pink haired one, as she had definitely been the most intoxicated of them.

He had already spent about one and a half hour searching the crowd – he'd never thought it would be so hard to find someone with pink hair, but in the dim light practically every lighter shade could've been mistaken for the color he was looking for.

But as he obviously had no luck on the ground, he decided to climb the next best roof at some point. At least he'd have a better view from there.

And really: it didn't take him long to at least find Sasuke and his plus one, who were sitting on a bench near one of the koi ponds in the park in intimate togetherness. It had made him sick to watch the woman squirm and writhe just to meet the man's idea of the perfect wife or whatever. But he had to admit, that they both seemed rather happy right then.

He had already scanned the area around them for any potentially pink-haired woman, but hadn't come up with any, when he lifted his eyes to the next level and finally found what he'd been looking for. Only two houses farther down the road, Sakura sat on a roof and stared down at Uchiha and his woman with a blatant blend of envy and despair.

He sighed heavily when he made his way over to her, not really surprised by her obvious disdain for what she saw, but still a bit disappointed. She didn't even look up at him when he stopped beside her.

"You know it won't change anything if you keep staring at them like that – either go down there and fight for her place, or accept that you're not what he's looking for", he noted coolly, not able to repress the sharp tone, that had sneaked into his voice.

She finally acknowledged his presence with a brief glance (a rather irritated one at that) before she resumed to watch the two lovebirds.

"I'm no' an Uchiha", she slurred sullenly and snorted, "Shoul' be glad 's not som'in' I can help, huh?" Ed felt his eyebrows furrow but said nothing, more concerned by the fact that her arms were completely bare. Apparently she'd lost the silk blanket she'd wrapped around her frame earlier, somewhere. It surely been expensive – maybe he'd look for it later…

Without another thought he shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, before he sat down on the roof tiles beside her. She darted him a brief glance, that possibly should've been thankful, but looked rather forced, before she refocused her attention on what was going on below them.

"Ino said I shou' fo'ged 'boud 'im an' ged laid", she informed him offhandedly, which he only managed to answer with a heavy sigh and the clapping sound of his palm meeting his face. Why wasn't he surprised that the blonde had suggested something like that? "'s if tha' woul'be easy… 's not like men 're linin' up ta ged into ma pan's..."

He felt his eyebrows furrow into a frown, but didn't react otherwise. She'd probably keep talking anyway, regardless wether he contributed anything to this rather one-sided conversation, or not, which is why he remained silent. He listened attentively to her slurred words though, curious where this'd be heading but silently hoping the night wouldn't end with her crying again – which it definitely had the potential to…

Ed was almost a bit startled when her head suddenly whipped around and he was looking straight into her comically contemplative face. Her eyebrows formed the same crinkle he'd become much too familiar with, as it usually emerged whenever he'd managed to cause her anger. But it wasn't nearly as pronounced this time and in combination with her lips forming a childish pout she almost looked kind of adorable.

"Ya sleep around a lot – wanna fuck me?", she suddenly blurted out and every though about her being adorable was discarded immediately. He was so shocked in the first moment, it was a miracle that he didn't loose his balance and slipped off the roof!

" _What?!",_ he spluttered and embarrassingly felt his cheeks burn up, "You're _drunk_ Sakura – don't say things like that!"

"'m drunk – but I mean it!", she insisted, "Jus' take me to sum allay an' _do_ me!" The crinkle was slowly becoming more pronounced, but he didn't give a damn at that moment. Why the fuck was she saying such things now? She was drunk – damnit! Even if he met her request, she probably wouldn't even remember anything happened come the next morning! Not to mention the details about her past she'd told him about only days ago – how the fuck could he've accepted her offer under these circumstances?!

" _No_ Sakura – you're _drunk_!", he tried to reason with her, forcing his voice to stay as calm as humanly possible in such a situation, "You'd never forgive me if I took advantage of your condition like that – and I wouldn't either!"

"Oh – c'mon!", she exclaimed angrily, waving her hands around in a rather uncoordinated way – which Ed would probably had thought amusing if the situation hadn't been so serious, "'f ya don' wanna fuck me, jus' _say_ it!"

He inhaled sharply at that statement and immediately tried to backtrack. He couldn't just let her think something like that! "That's really not it, Sakura – I-"

"'s not like you're _picky_ – you do id with _evvveryone_ – why not wim _me_?", she interrupted him, "Wha's wrong wimme 'f nod even _you'll_ 've sex wimme?!" He immediately felt his facial features derail and for a moment he could only stare at her in utter disbelief. But as if the sting her words caused hadn't been enough, her eyes suddenly looked alarmingly damp as well. Hell this woman would be the end of him…

"Sakura, I-", he croaked, but his voice broke off and to be honest, he wouldn't have known how to reply to her statement anyway. If he'd been tipsy before, he'd surely been sober after such a comment – but that hadn't been his problem in the first place. He was just too dumbfounded and frankly not just a little hurt by her words, to form a coherent thought – let alone a comprehensible reply.

Fortunately he didn't need to worry about that though, as he suddenly felt someone approaching, by the tremor that ran through the tiles he sat on and when he looked up in surprise, he found Ino standing behind them with a deep frown on her face. Her kimono looked a bit disheveled, but at least she still wore her silk scarf.

"This was enough self-pity for one night – you're going home now", the blonde stated irritatedly, sounding astoundingly sober compared to the last time he heard her talk that night. "But before I haul your ass home, you're going to apologize for what you just said – this really wasn't very nice!"

"Fu'off Ino", Sakura only replied angrily and glared furiously at her friend, her eyes still tear-dimmed, "'s just d'truth! 'm not gonna apologizzze for d'truth!"

"Ino's right – you really should head home now", Ed intercepted calmly, but couldn't help sounding a bit cold, and he slowly got up before he brushed the dust off his clothes. Truth being told, he was rather disappointed by her low opinion of him – but at least he was in the picture now…

The blonde kunoichi just sighed, obviously realizing that it was pointless to argue with Sakura right then and reached for the jacked around her friend's shoulder, probably to hand it back to him. "She can keep it – I'll get it tomorrow", he just muttered before Ino had the chance to lift the garment and turned to leave – and before she could've responded in any way, he'd jumped down to the ground again, disappearing in the crowd.

He didn't bother to glance back at them, when he headed back to the pub he'd last seen Naruto and Kiba. Probably he should've been glad he'd learned about her opinion of him like that. He'd already been much too close to falling for her – at least that wouldn't be a problem anymore...

AN: hey there - I hope you're not too shocked by that chapter. I'm aware that Sakura's behavior seems OOC - especially considering the recent revelations about her past - but that'll be topic of the next chapter, so I hope you can live with it for now ^^'

thanks a lot to **Nameless I am, StoneTheLoner, Guest, AdrienVictus, Jose19, StarKiss666, Castella Leena** and for their reviews! I really appreciate it, that you took the time :)

at **Guest** : I have to admit that I also didn't like Sakura much at first – but over time she changed quite drastically and became one of the most respectable Konohan kunoichi :) I hope you'll still try to give her a chance ;)

at **Castella** **Leena** : I'm really glad you like the story so far :) and I can assure you that Al will have an appearance – but first his letters will play a role ;) (spoiler for the next chapter ;) …)

Thank you all for reading and I hope some of you will leave me some of your thoughts to this chapter ;)

Till the next chapter ^^

~ Orange


	9. How To Deal With Curiosity

...

" _Curiosity is not a sin – but we should exercise caution with our curiosity."  
_ **–** **Albus Dumbledore – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.**

 **...**

 **Lesson 9: How to deal with curiosity**

Her head hammered like mad when she came to, but that hadn't been the reason why she woke up. Before she even had the time to wonder what _had_ been the cause though, she felt a harsh tug on her hair and a pained whimper escaped her lips.

"Ouch – stop it", she whined and immediately shielded her eyes, after she'd tried to look who'd been cruel enough to wake her so roughly. Of course it had been Ino – but it was much too bright to look for any indication why the hell the blonde thought it necessary to raise her like that – and what business she had in _her_ apartment. The mattress below her felt far too familiar to be any other than her own...

"Ed's at the door – I told him you'd talk to him personally. Be extra nice to him – you acted like a bitch yesterday!", Ino informed her grimly and pulled on her hair once more – probably for emphasis.

"Ouch – okay, okay! What did I do? I have no idea what happened after about the fifth round of shochu...", she admitted and tried to ignore the feeling of nausea that arose at the mere thought of alcohol. How much had she even drunk the night before? After some contemplation she hesitantly dared to peak at her friend through barely opened lids, additionally shielding her eyes from too much light with her hand.

"I expected as much – you seemed to be out for a blackout", Ino replied dryly and finally let go of her hair with a sigh. As far as Sakura could tell she looked quite fit despite the fact that she'd consumed quite a generous amount of shochu as well. How unfair… "I only joined up with you shortly before I dragged you here – but if I got the situation right, he turned you down and you became rather insulting. You told him that you'd asked him just because he _'did it with everyone'_ , Sakura." The blond had her arms crossed in front of her chest and looked down at her reproachfully, making her feel even more miserable than she already did… But-

"Wait a moment! What exactly did I ask him?!", she asked hurriedly, embarrassed by how girlishly shrill her voice suddenly sounded. Oh gooods – she hoped she didn't-

"I wasn't there – but reading between the lines I think you asked him to have sex with you", the blonde told her with a frown, "I know I told you to get laid – but not like that, you idiot! Not by a _friend_!"

"Shit!", Sakura cursed and rubbed her fingers against her hammering temple. "I guess you wont help me speed the detoxing process up a bit?", she tried carefully, but when she saw Ino's frown deepen, she sighed in defeat and struggled to get to her feet (which was more difficult than you'd think – spinning as the room around her was and all…).

Bracing her weight against the wall every few steps, she made her way to the entrance and after a questioning glance back at Ino, Sakura knew she'd have to face Ed on her own. She was vaguely aware that her throat was burning a bit and in addition to her headache there was a strange pressure on her entire face as well, as if her sinuses were stuffed or something.

Great – she wasn't only hungover, she'd also caught a cold...

Taking an encouraging breath, she wrapped her fingers around the knob and pulled the door open. Ed was leaning against the wall outside, apparently rather bored, if his expression was anything to go by. At least he didn't appear to be angry.

Which didn't mean that he wasn't though...

"Morning Ed – I'm sorry for yesterday! I-"

"No big deal. And it's afternoon already. I'm just here to drop your scarf off – you lost it sometime between the fireworks and spying on Uchiha", he informed her in a distinctly neutral tone and pushed himself off the wall to hold said garment out to her. Taken by surprise she just blinked dumbly at him at first, before she finally managed to reach for it and hug it to her chest.

"Well – that at least explains my stuffed nose", she sighed and tiredly rubbed a hand against her forehead. "Look – I'm really sorry for what I said! Ino told me that-"

"I already told you – its not a big deal", he interrupted her, again, but this time his voice sounded a touch sharper than before. "Would it be possible to get my jacket back? – If it's not at hand its no problem either. I can get it another time."

"You gave me your jacket?", she asked dumbfounded and just stared at him with big eyes – probably looking rather ridiculous with her disheveled hair and the lousy shirt and shorts she wore. She couldn't even remember changing clothes. Ino had probably helped her put them on – she'd have to thank her for that later…

"Well – your kimono didn't look too warm, you know", he replied dryly and she immediately felt even worse than she already had. He'd been a total gentleman and even offered his _jacket_ to her (he must have been cold without it!) and how did she thank him? She had nothing better to do than offend him!

And she didn't even know what _else_ she'd said to him. Who knew how long they'd talked before Ino came along.

Damn – she was the _worst_!

"I'm really _sorry_ , Ed", she repeated meekly and ducked back inside, "It will only take a moment – I'll just ask Ino where she put your jacket!" She was almost relieved after shutting the door behind her, when she didn't have to feel his heavy gaze upon herself anymore. Hurriedly making her way to the kitchen, she stumbled over the one or other piece of furniture in the process (why the damn tea table stood exactly where she wanted to pass, was beyond her; she could've sworn it had _moved_ – just to spite her).

When she finally reached her destination (probably with a few bruises more) Ino had obviously already expected her. A black garment that had been meticulously folded lay in front of her on the kitchen counter, while the blonde only stared at her with a cocked eyebrow. When Sakura reached for the jacket, Ino's hand dashed forward and grabbed her wrist.

"Did you apologize like I told you to?"

"Yes, _mom_!", Sakura growled angrily and wriggled her forearm out of the blonde's grip, "He said it's no big deal – but I don't really believe him… I'll have to try a bit harder I guess…"

"Well – how'd _you_ react if someone practically called you easy?", Ino snorted and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "I for one would try to distance myself from someone who has such a low opinion of me – you should be glad that he won't be able to do that."

"…I guess you're right", Sakura sighed in defeat, before she got a grip on herself, huffed and glared at her friend. "But don't tell me what I already know – tell me how to fix it!"

"You fucked that up all by yourself – so deal with it like a grown up: suck it up to him until he forgives you!"

Sakura snorted in disbelief. " _That's_ your advice?!"

"Well – if you were an item I'd tell you to give him a blowjob… or two – no, better ten! But as you're only friends you'll just have to put up with his sour mood for a while", Ino told her without an ounce of sympathy and only shrugged.

"Fine!", Sakura replied defiantly, placed the scarf Ed had brought her on the counter and finally grabbed the jacket, pulling it to her chest instead. Belatedly she realized, that she'd briefly buried her nose in it as well and had to suffer Ino's smug expression for it, before she quickly hurried back to the entrance (making sure to evade every inconveniently placed piece of furniture on her way).

Ed was leaning against the wall again when she opened the door and accepted his jacket wordlessly when she held it out to him.

"Ed – I'm really-"

"Please just leave it be, okay? I don't want to talk about it...", he interrupted her yet another time, but as much as she usually hated it when he did that, she couldn't bring herself to be angry about it. His voice had allowed her, to gauge his emotional state a bit better this time, but she wasn't exactly happy about what she found.

Nor was she overly surprised.

Of course he was _hurt_. And of course he was _angry_ – she'd be _furious_ if she were in his shoes… But how should she set things right again if he didn't allow her to apologize?

"Okay – I won't mention it anymore. But we're still meeting for training tomorrow, right?", Sakura asked carefully, and couldn't help but worry he'd say 'no' – she couldn't even really hold it against him if he did. Biting tensely on her bottom lip, she watched in concern as he ran one of his palms tiredly over his face before he answered.

"Of course – my place, like planned. Nothing changed – we're still each others teacher and student", he stated calmly and met her gaze head on. She had to resist the urge to avert her eyes and only swallowed uneasily before she finally had the sense to make use of her voice again.

"And friends – we're still _friends_ , right?"

She couldn't help but glance expectantly at him, but he only stared at her as if he had to contemplate his answer carefully – which wasn't a good sign at all. His jaw seemed rather tense as well and she was surprised that his piercing eyes didn't _physically_ harm her, as sharp and cold as they were.

But if she expected an answer, Sakura was met with disappointment. Instead, she helplessly had to watch him turn on his heels and disappear down the stairway without another word.

Well… _Fuck!_

∴∇Δ∇Δ∇Δ∇∴

Then next few days didn't show much improvement either – neither with Ed, nor with her cold. She had to sneeze every few minutes for the first four training sessions they had after the incident, but at least she was on the road of recovery again – her throat didn't hurt anymore and the sneezing had decreased as well.

Their relationship though, seemed ruined beyond repair and she really had no idea how to deal with it – let alone how to manage the apparently impossible task of righting it.

When Ed didn't turn up at her place on Thursday, she already worried that he'd changed his mind and wanted to end the last, _entirely_ work related connection they had as well.

She hadn't even realized how comfortable she'd become in his presence until it suddenly felt wrong to tell him about her everyday life. He'd always listened to her mostly utterly unimportant stories as if he was glad for every little bit of information she was willing to offer. He'd also shared some about his home country and a few bits about his brother, when they'd been kids, every now and then.

Now though, he was disturbingly silent whenever they didn't have to talk about work and the moments between their different exercises made her feel downright awful.

The thought that he wanted to abandon their working relationship as well now, made her feel almost as sick as seeing Sasuke approaching them with another woman on his arm on New Year's Eve…

But then she wondered if maybe he'd just forgotten that they'd agreed to meet at _her_ place. When she thought about it like that, it was also entirely possible that she'd misunderstood him and _he_ was waiting for _her_ – as little as they talked these days – so she quickly gathered a few writing tools and made her way over to his little apartment.

It didn't even take her five minutes to get there, but she had to calm her nerves and take a deep breath before she dared to knock on his door. When he didn't open within the next few minutes she tried again, but just as her knuckles met the wood for the second time, the door opened a little and a rather peaky looking Ed appeared in its crack.

"I'm _sick_ ", he croaked, which only emphasized his statement, before he fell into a coughing fit. He'd looked well enough the day before, but obviously she'd managed to give him whatever bacillus or virus she'd caught and now _he_ had to deal with it as well.

 _Great_ Sakura. Really _well_ done.

"If you'll excuse me – I have an important appointment with my pillow and blanket", he informed her, while she realized with horror that he slightly swayed on the spot. She hadn't had such severe symptoms but maybe his immune system hadn't been prepared for whatever he caught. It was entirely possible that it wasn't common where he came from, after all.

He was just about to shut the door in her face, when she reached out and blocked it. "When did you eat the last time?", she asked carefully and couldn't help the worried tone that sneaked into her voice, "I think you have a fever..."

"Well, thanks for your expert view – I wanted to get a second opinion on that anyway", he remarked snidely, "If you could leave me _alone_ now – I really need to get back to bed!"

"I can see that – you barely manage to keep yourself upright", she replied dryly and forced the door further open to sneak in.

"What are you _doing_?", Ed growled – or tried to, but his voice was so hoarse, that it rather sounded like a whisper. He probably intended to make up for it by straightening himself, but that didn't work out as he'd planned – because he suddenly keeled over sideways and remained lying on the floor, out cold.

She really would've liked to just bring him to the hospital, but with their relationship battered as it was, she didn't dare to do so. Edward had told her about his aversion once and though he didn't go into details, he'd been adamant enough about it, that she'd try everything in her power to cure him at home.

A familiar environment was good for recovery anyway and a stay at the hospital would probably just cause him unnecessary stress. She'd be able to treat him at his apartment just as well – she'd only have to call in at the hospital for a few supplies, just in case.

With a grunt she heaved his body on her back and carried him to his bed, where she carefully placed him on the mattress and made sure that he was completely covered with the blanket, before she briefly left his flat to get a few things.

When she returned about half an hour later, Edward was still out and apparently hadn't moved at all. He'd probably remain that way for a while – which wasn't entirely bad, as his body needed the rest anyway.

After she'd stowed the medical supplies she got from the hospital in one of the unused kitchen cupboards, she placed her bag with a change of clothes and some toiletries on the floor in front of the nightstand and made herself comfortable on the bed beside her sleeping patient.

After placing a gentle hand on his forehead, she realized that he _indeed_ had a fever and decided to give him a saline drip, if he didn't wake up within the following hour – just in case. Who knew when he'd drunk something the last time and she couldn't risk a dehydration.

When she'd pulled her notes and the book she'd brought with her, out of her satchel to place them on the bedside table, she noted a stack of papers already resting there. They were filled with the most meticulous Amestrian handwriting she'd ever seen (which, admittedly, didn't mean much – she had only three books and Ed's scrawl as reference, after all), a silver pocket watch resting on top of them – probably to weight the stack down and keep the sheets from littering about the room.

She cast a hesitant glance in Ed's direction, but as he didn't give the impression to be waking up anytime soon, she reached for the paper on top of the pile. As she didn't have much trouble translating the first few words – which happened to be a salutation – she quickly gathered that it was a letter from Edward's brother.

At the thought of reading such a private message, she immediately felt bad for intruding like that – but _hell_ , she was curious as well! And it wasn't like she'd searched his drawers to find the letters – they were practically served on a silver tablet!

How the hell should she resist in such a situation?!

Hesitantly she bit on her lip and peeked at the still sleeping man beside her once more, as if she expected him to tell her what to do (or rather to _'keep her fucking hands off of his letters'_ ). But of course he didn't even so much as snore…

After taking a calming breath, she focused on the letter in her hands again, glad, that she'd convinced Edward to teach her his language – otherwise she wouldn't have been able to read it, let alone understand a thing.

 _Dear Brother,_

 _I'm sorry to read, that my letters always reach you too late to be of any use. But I'm not sure how sensible my advices are anyway – with the little information you offer. The job would be much easier if you'd just write a bit more than just that you live, train, eat and sleep. You only ever mention all the interesting stuff in your postscripts (or pps and ppps…) – but I suppose I should be glad you bring the personal things up at all._

 _May is doing well – we both are actually. Ling is keeping us on the go with an alchemic problem here and a flooded village there – but we're glad he trusts us enough to do the job and its always encouraging to see the happy faces whenever we gave somebody their home back._

 _I still miss you quite a lot lately – soon the next year will begin and we'll be hundreds of kilometers apart. You're right: it really would be much easier if they just had telephone lines here… Do you think we could get the setup going?_

 _I'm still in correspondence with Führer Mustang (he's made it by the way; I received his letter about half a week ago, informing me that we're invited to his official inauguration ceremony at the end of January – but I suppose you're just as incapable to make it there in time as I am, probably even more so) and he could send us the know-how. He probably only needed to ask Captain Fuery to give us the necessary instructions and we could start transmuting._

 _As much as we travel lately, May and I would probably have Xing covered within half a year or so…_

 _I hope you and all your important people are fine and you haven't managed to destroy your automail yet. You know Winry would kill you – no matter where you are. She also told me to say 'hi' if I wrote you the next time, by the way, so consider yourself greeted. Why you never take the time to at least write her a brief note every few months is beyond me, but it's your business. I'm not really surprised it didn't work out with you two though – now I finally wrote it; be glad that's everything I'll comment to that (for now at least)._

 _I also hope that your straightforwardness didn't manage to scare Sakura off yet and she's still willing to teach you. Please don't be an ass Brother, and just make the effort to be nice to someone for once – maybe you'll receive some goodwill in return. It never hurts to place at least a little value on common courtesy, in any case – it never hurt me at least._

 _Stay save and take care of yourself – and_ _please_ _don't be a stranger and write back soon! And a bit more than just a list of your most basic accomplishments. I'm good at reading between the lines, but there need to be at least two of them to manage that – if you get what I mean…_

 _Love_

 _Al_

 _P.S.: Führer Mustang asked me to remind you that you still owe him money – and he informed me that he considers you a State Alchemist unless you give him your watch back. I didn't even know that you still have it, Brother! Why the hell did you even keep it – I thought you couldn't leave the military soon enough?!_

 _P.P.S.: Winry keeps asking me which condition your leg is in. I just told her it's fine for now – but apparently it wasn't specific enough to be convincing. I'll make sure to mention a few dents and scratches next time – its probably rather close to the truth anyway…_

When she'd reached the end of the letter, she placed the sheet neatly back on top of the pile on the bedside table absentmindedly, and let the information sink in. She tried to ignore her guilty conscience for reading something so personal, but as she was a bit overwhelmed by the things she'd learned, it was quite easy to do.

Apparently Edward knew the _'Führer'_ , and although they hadn't talked about the political system of Amestris so far, she knew from one of her books, that this was the title of the head of the country. If he was on good terms with him though, she couldn't really tell – but the fact that the man obviously lent him money once, indicated that they at least must have had some sort of relationship.

Edward also never had told her that he'd been part of the military. He'd mentioned his dislike for firearms once, when she'd asked him about them, so she never would've thought that he could've been one of the people who used them on a regular basis. Which he had to, right? – If he'd been – or _still_ was – part of the military, he would've had to at least _carry_ one.

She felt uncomfortable at that thought, as the idea of something so easily capable of causing the dead of another person without needing much skill beyond the ability to aim right, was frankly frightening her. No wonder that the countries bordering on Amestris were on guard 24/7…

Sakura also really would've liked to ask Ed about this Ling guy and Winry person. And what the hell was an _'automail'_? She couldn't find anything about it in her books either! The comment about his leg having _'dents'_ and _'scratches'_ sounded rather ominous as well and she almost _ached_ to just tackle him about it.

That, of course, would've inevitably caused him to ask, where the hell she got the names and information from in the first place though, and she'd have been forced to confess that her curiosity had gotten the better of her.

Suffice to say, he wouldn't be amused to learn that she'd read one of his brother's letters, so she better left it alone and dealt with her curiosity for the time being.

At least the fact that he apparently shared a bit about his life in Konoha with his brother – that he'd even mentioned _her_ to him (which admittedly didn't mean much; they met five days a week to tutor each other – simply because of the amount of time he had to spend with her, he'd probably needed to write about her at some point) made her feel a bit more at ease, than she'd been before she came to his apartment.

Of course Alphonse didn't know anything about the incident a few days ago, but the words he'd wrote, indicated some kind of worry about their relationship on Ed's end, which at least meant that he _cared_.

That was a footing; something to work with.

∴∇Δ∇Δ∇Δ∇∴

She grumbled irritatedly when she activated (or rather de-activated?) the array on Ed's door and let herself in, sneezing for the fourth time that day (and it was already evening!).

When he'd finally woken up after several hours of unconsciousness, she'd wanted to prepare him a miso soup, but realized belatedly, that of course the man didn't have any miso in his flat – and not much else either, except eggs and milk.

Yes, she had been rather surprised by the latter, as she was aware of his aversion for the _'white plague'_ as he'd called it once. She definitely intended to ask him about the milk later on.

However, Sakura had to head out again and get some food in the pouring rain – telling the now awake and annoyingly uncooperative patient to _stay the hell put_ , until she returned. As it was already at hand, she even went so far as to threaten him with putting milk into every drink she'd offer him, if he dared to go to the bathroom and shower without her supervision.

He'd mentioned offhandedly that he intended to do so, but she was sure his circulatory system wasn't up to that yet and didn't trust his legs to support him.

As soon as she stepped inside and leant her umbrella against the wall, right where the shoe-mat was located, she cast a glance towards the very _empty_ bed. Realizing he'd _of_ _course_ disobeyed her instructions, she quickly placed the grocery bag on the kitchen counter, before she hurried to the bathroom.

Even before she opened the door, she heard the water of the shower stream and only shouted a brief warning before she stepped inside. As soon as she saw that the shower-curtain had been pulled halfway back – without any Edward in sight – she realized that something was wrong. But at least the curtain was moving as if someone was tugging on it – which meant he still must have been conscious and hadn't managed to drown himself yet.

That was _reassuring_ …

She hurriedly approached the bathtub to inspect the damage, but took a startled step back when a hand darted towards her, to keep her at bay.

"Get out!", she heard Ed growl, before he managed to pull himself up to the rim with some effort. His head hung over the edge and she could hear his heavy breaths even over the still running shower.

"How do you intend to get out without help?", she deadpanned and sighed heavily. She was aware that this was probably very embarrassing for him, but it wasn't like she'd never seen a naked man before! "You realize I'm a medic, right? You've nothing I haven't seen before", she pointed out soothingly, but crouched down in front of him to at least meet him halfway.

"'m not so sure about that...", he muttered and when he finally lifted his head enough, to allow their eyes to meet, her breath caught for a moment at the absolutely devastated glance he gave her.

"I can give you a towel so you can cover yourself before I help you up", she suggested carefully and quickly crawled over to the cupboard in the corner, she hoped she'd find some in. To her relief he really kept them there and she quickly withdrew one and handed it wordlessly to him.

Ed silently accepted it but only stared blankly at the fabric before he sighed and shook his head. "That won't help at all – but thanks anyway", he rasped and groaned slightly when he turned around – which obviously took him some effort – to turn the water off. He glanced sideways at her for a moment, before he lowered the towel into the bathtub – probably to drape it around his hips, but she couldn't be sure, as she wasn't able to see anything from her angle.

According to his frustrated grunts and annoyed expression, the fabric apparently wasn't cooperating though, and after some struggling on his part, he just cursed and threw it over the rim onto the bathroom floor. He glared defiantly at her and huffed.

"Just get it over with already!", he demanded and she had barely enough time to relocate the little stool, that sat beside the sink, closer to the bathtub, before he attempted to pull himself up on the rim again. His arms were shaking under the strain already and she hurriedly lend him a hand before they could've given way. Only when she'd managed to seat him securely onto the stool she really took a look at him.

Hoping deeply that she managed to mask her shock, she quickly reached for the towel and handed it to him. He accepted it with a grunt, but didn't bother to look at her. His hands immediately started to rub his body dry with methodical movements, without showing even the least concern about modesty all of a sudden.

If he'd been worried because of his leg, it made sense though. She was _definitely_ aware of it now and there was no reason to hide it anymore. Her eyes trailed curiously over the gleaming metal, in awe of the precise mechanics certainly hiding behind the beautiful exterior.

The knee and ankle must've had a particularly clever design to work so naturally – she hadn't expected something like that for even a single second, which spoke volumes about the mechanical skill of whoever had crafted the leg. She was stunned by how _real_ it looked – the foot even had _toes_! – and wondered if artificial limbs like that were common in Amestris, or if he'd alchemized it himself (which she wouldn't have been surprised at).

But when she realized that she'd been staring, she forced herself to look up, to make sure she hadn't been caught – and found herself faced with a blank glare.

"I'm a cripple – now you know", he remarked dryly (literally – his voice sounded as if he'd eaten sandpaper or something), before he lowered his gaze to the towel again and rubbed it mercilessly over his chest. He didn't seem to be wet anymore, but as he hadn't made a secret of his discomfort, she supposed he just needed something to do with his hands.

She was rather surprised by his harsh words though. She'd never thought he'd be someone to _'give a shit'_ about appearances – to say it with his own words…

"I've seen _'cripples'_ as you call them – but _you_ are definitely not one. As far as I can tell you have a totally functioning body. I mean – I didn't suspect something like that at all and how long have we been sparring? Four, five months?! This is really impressing", she pointed out calmly, before she turned on her heels and headed to the door. She couldn't stand his glare any more. It almost looked as if he was disgusted by himself – but that couldn't be the case, right? So he probably was disgusted by her – for whatever reason…

She hadn't asked for seeing his leg after all! Hell – if he'd just listened to her, they'd probably found a way to solve the showering problem without her seeing him totally naked in the first place!

"I suppose I'll find some clean shorts in the dresser?" Sakura looked expectantly back at him over her shoulder and barely managed to suppress a grin at the sour look he gave her. She was much more familiar with _that_ expression – with that one she could deal.

"Yeah – be my guest and snoop through my belongings", he muttered, which rather sounded like a whisper with his hoarse voice.

"Thanks – I really appreciate your cooperation!", she informed him with a singsong voice and darted out of the room before he could've replied anything. After opening the top drawer she quickly found what she'd been looking for and didn't need to take him at his word and _'snoop through his belongings'_ (for the time being at least…).

When she returned to the bathroom, she found Ed leaning back against the wall, eyes closed and obviously resting after the strain he'd put on his body. She stopped for a moment to really take the sight in – Edward, peacefully sitting there like that, totally naked and without any shame (but to be honest, he really didn't have anything to be ashamed about...).

His golden hair was draped over his left shoulder, still damp, but not really wet anymore. The strong arms she'd become rather familiar with over the past few months, were crossed over his muscular chest, his tanned skin gleaming even in the cold light the neon-lamp provided. She noted several pretty nasty scars as she stepped closer; the most pronounced ones spreading over his right shoulder and around the port on his left thigh and one that was about the size of a fist, on the left side of his stomach…

When she'd approached him with cautious steps, she hesitantly reached out to place her hand on his forehead once more. It had been a while since she'd last felt for his temperature and his slightly flushed cheeks reminded her that it was time to check again. She had the sense to warn him verbally, though. "Don't be frightened – I just want to see if your fever's gone up."

But despite her calm voice and gentle touch, he flinched and Sakura barely had the time to slip her hand between his head and the bathroom wall, before he would've banged it against the tiles in his startled state. She couldn't help but wince at the pain when her fingers were smashed, but hoped that she'd been able to keep control over her facial features.

"Sorry, I should've given you more time... I got you some shorts – I don't think it would be wise to wear much more as much as you're sweating at the moment", she pointed out and reached into her hip pouch to get something to write. When she'd placed a few deliberate strokes on the paper she added the runes she thought would be necessary and showed Edward the array.

He only blinked tiredly at the sheet and darted her a confused glare, obviously unaware what she expected from him. "Not long ago you used an array to clean your shirt – do you think this would work as well?", she asked patiently and shoved the piece of paper practically under his nose then. His eyes widened in recognition, before he ripped the array from her fingers and took a closer look.

"I'd create an inner array with the triangle shape and relocate the runes for carbon, oxygen and hydrogen there", he muttered after a while and pointed to the respective symbols. "Otherwise it should work. I never thought about cleaning it like that before – but i suppose you want to apply it to my bedsheets?"

She only nodded in affirmation and couldn't help but feel slightly pleased that she'd managed to create such an array almost completely on her own. It was beyond simply changing shape – it would spread the added compounds on the surface and cause the particles to interact with the material they were placed on, before removing a part of them again – and all of that without altering the texture of the fabric.

"I have to admit I'm impressed", he croaked and handed her the paper back. "It probably would've worked like that too – I just want to be completely sure that it won't change anything with the sheets. I'm not sure if I'd be able to fix it right now..."

She only hummed in understanding and dropped the shorts she'd fetched for him into his lap. "Get dressed and I'll clean your sheets in the meantime ", she told him almost a bit excitedly, before she turned and left the bathroom once more.

After she'd quickly retrieved some detergent with a bactericide herbal compound from the cupboard she'd stowed it in earlier, she placed about two tablespoons of it on his blanket. Then she pulled her chalk out of her hip pouch and drew the array they'd agreed on, on the fabric, before she placed her fingers on the outer circle and activated it. She watched with some fascination how the powder spread, before it seemed to vanish in the fabric, only to resurface after another moment. It formed the exact same pile it had been before and remained that way until she gathered it in a bin bag.

Sakura repeated the process with his bedsheets and pillow as well and fluffed the latter up invitingly, before she dispose the waste in the kitchen.

She'd already begun to cut the vegetables for the soup, when she finally heard Ed calling for her. Only mildly surprised to find him and the stool she'd left him on, directly in front of the sink, she shook her head in disbelieve, but gave him a small smile nonetheless.

"You brushed your teeth?", she assumed while she approached him and he only gave her a tired nod. Without another word she pulled one of his arms over her shoulder to support him, and helped him back to bed with small, cautious steps.

"The soup will take about another twenty minutes or so – try not to pull another stunt like the one in the bathtub again, will you?", she requested wryly, but hoped that her frown conveyed sufficiently enough that she wouldn't be amused if he refused to comply yet again.

"I'll try", he muttered and snuggled down in his blankets in obvious dismissal. Smiling faintly, she took a few steps to the kitchen counter and resumed the task of cutting the vegetables for the soup.

True to her word, she served it about twenty minutes later, but had to place it on the nightstand briefly, when Edward didn't react to her notice. She sat down on the edge of the bed beside him and gently shook his shoulder through the blanket, while telling him with a hopefully soothing voice, that his soup was ready.

Glad that she hadn't startled him this time, she watched with mild amusement how he rubbed his hands over his face – probably in an attempt to speed the waking process up a bit – and lent him a hand when he tried to sit up in bed.

"Thanks", he muttered, as she handed him the bowl, his voice uncharacteristically small in comparison to the hisses he'd often directed at her these past few hours. Sure – his voice didn't allow him to growl or shout at her, but at least his expression always remained true to the intention. Now however he'd looked almost meek, when he'd briefly glanced at her, before he concentrated on the dish in his hands and took the first gulp of soup.

"No problem Ed – that's what I'm here for. Medic, remember?", she reminded him with a wink when he looked at her a bit confused, and his eyes became unfocused all of a sudden, staring in the distance.

"Right, you're a medic...", he muttered and addressed himself to his soup again without another word. She had to bring him another two shares, before he claimed to have had enough.

"Thanks for everything – i think I can manage now, it's surely quite late already...", he pointed out and gestured to the window, which showed an already dark night sky, obviously intent on dismissing her.

She sighed tiredly and shook her head. "I'll stay and keep an eye on that fever of yours", she told him in an end-of-discussion voice, which earned her an annoyed huff but at least no words of reluctance.

"If you absolutely have to", he croaked and buried himself beneath the blankets again, turning her back on her. With a tired smile she returned the dishes to the kitchen and quickly rinsed them in the sink. Fortunately she was almost used to his dismissive behavior by then, otherwise she probably would've been disappointed.

When she was done with the dishes she returned to the bed and made herself comfortable beside her patient, who'd been kept awake by a few coughing attacks. As he hadn't bothered to change his position, he was facing her now and if she could trust her gut feeling at all, he was watching her intently while she read in her book.

"What does it say?", his raspy voice suddenly cut the silence between them and she turned her face to eye him in confusion. "The book – it's about Amestris, right?, he asked and she barely noticed that he'd switched to Amestrian then. Only when she nodded hesitantly, he continued. "What's written there – what have you learned from these books so far?"

She felt a frown forming on her face while she contemplated his question and glanced at the book in her hands absentmindedly. Maybe this was an opportunity to dig for answers about the information she gathered from his brother's letter...

"Some about politics – the military system with it's many ranks", she started and averted her eyes from the page she'd been staring at to face Edward instead. "Isn't that a bit complicated? We have the Kages, Jounin, Chunin, Genin and the Anbu. You have I don't know how many ranks, some divided yet another time in First and Second or Brigadier, Major and Lieutenant", she listed with a confused frown, "And to top it all, I read it's rude to address someone with the wrong rank – how the hell can anybody keep track of so many titles?!"

Ed chuckled lightly, but was caught in a coughing fit and it took some time until he was able to breath evenly enough to answer. She'd have to give him some sort of expectorant the next morning – now it wouldn't be wise, as it'd keep him from sleeping; but he definitely needed something to encourage the expectorating. "Mostly it's sufficient to just address them with 'Sir' and if you're in the military yourself, they usually expect you to salute as well", he explained with a disgusted expression that suggested, he wasn't exactly fond of the thought.

"Have you been part of the military?", she asked in a neutral enough voice, that wouldn't betray the fact that she already knew.

His eyebrows furrowed in a thoughtful expression, before his eyes got that faraway look again. "Yeah, I was Major – but only because I was State Alchemist. I didn't give a shit about rank..."

"I can imagine", she stated wryly and eyed him with mild amusement, until a thought came to her mind and she felt a frown tug on her features once more. "You were State Alchemist?", she verified, which caused Ed to sigh heavily.

He had closed his eyes tiredly, but answered nonetheless. "Yes, I was a State Alchemist. Did your book tell you anything about them?", he asked in return and though his voice was still just a whisper, it had a certain edge to it.

"Yes... It says they were often used in the front lines, in times of war. There's also mentioned that you get an official title – for example _'Crimson Lotus Alchemist'_ or _'Flame Alchemist'_ ", she related what she'd learned and was a bit surprised when Ed's eyes suddenly opened at the exemplary names. "You know one of them? I read they became famous for what they did in the most recent war... One was sentenced for his crimes while the other was praised for his deeds."

Ed snorted and rubbed his hand over his face, a rather humorless chuckle bubbling up behind it. "I'll never hear the end of it if the Bastard gets word, that he's known even in these remote regions", he muttered dryly and turned on his back, the back of his hand resting on his forehead, while he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "You can add to that book, that the Flame is Führer now", he noted with an unimpressed snort, "Wouldn't have thought he'd make it that soon, but I'm glad he did. It's high time someone who actually _cares_ for the people was in charge..."

"So, you _know_ the Flame Alchemist – the Führer?", she asked, rather surprised that she'd get at least one of her answers so soon.

"Yeah", he sighed and closed his eyes again, "He was my commanding officer, when I entered the military. Could've had worse..." Despite his rather uncaring words, the small smile forming around his lips seemed almost fond and Sakura found herself wondering just how close they'd been...

"Do you still have contact?"

"No, I'm not much of a writer... But Al sends him letters every now and then – he told me that the Bastard made it, actually", he explained tiredly and hid a yawn behind his hand.

"I should let you sleep now – sorry for keeping you awake for so long..."

Ed cracked his eyes open to give her a last calculating glance, before he closed them once more and turned his back to her.

"... 'S not your fault – I liked talking about it..."

And with that a long period of silence settled around Sakura, only interrupted by the scraping of paper whenever she turned a page. Around midnight she quickly took a shower and brushed her teeth, before she made herself comfortable beside Edward – under the blanket this time – and tried to get a few hours of sleep.

It couldn't have been long, before the restless body beside her woke her, as the room around her was still pitch-black. She hurriedly turned the lamp on the nightstand on and took a look at Ed. His head whipped from side to side frantically and a desperate expression was plastered on his face, while beads of sweat pearled down along his temples.

"Hey Ed", she called out to him in a calm voice and tried to brush some of the sweat from his forehead, but his sudden movements complicated the task.

"No – _no_ , it can't be… Oh, _please_ forgive me!", he suddenly pleaded, but his eyes were still closed, only solidifying her suspicion that he was having a nightmare.

"Ed – it's just a dream. You're safe – nobody wants to harm you or anybody else", she tried to soothe him, but started to gently shake his shoulder when she realized that her words didn't reach him. Only when she raised her voice a bit and shook him more firmly, his eyes finally opened wide and he immediately sat up, looking around erratically.

He was panting heavily, coughing every now and then, but his breaths soon evened out. When he realized where he was and who was with him, he buried his face in his hands and inhaled deeply.

"I have those too from time to time – it usually takes me longer to calm down after I wake up though", she told him carefully and brushed her hand in soothing strokes over his back. "Sorry that I woke you, but it seemed to be the best course of action at that moment."

"It's okay...", he whispered and lowered his slightly shaking hands to his lap, before he turned his head to look at her. He seemed shaken but appeared to have calmed down a bit. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"That's what I'm here for", she reminded him with a dismissing hand gesture, "To wake you from nasty fever-dreams."

He stared at her for a moment, his expression strangely blank all of a sudden, before he averted his face and looked down at his lap. "Yeah – medic and all. I remember."

He sounded so very distant in that moment, that she couldn't help but give into the urge to crawl a bit closer. Her hand sneaked around his side as if it had a mind on its own and before she knew it, she was hugging him awkwardly from the side, without any idea how to deal with the situation.

He inhaled sharply and stiffened a bit when he felt her touch, but neither pushed her away nor told her to leave him alone.

"And a friend", she added in a low voice, while she tugged some of his bangs behind his ear with her free hand, to have a better look at his face. His hair was a mess, but the long strands mostly flowed down his back. He was glaring at her from the corner of his eyes; it was a calculating glare; one that told her he didn't really trust her anymore.

She really needed to do something – _say_ something – to make things right again; and she needed to do it fast, because she couldn't stand his behavior anymore. "I wouldn't do this for everybody… Just as I wouldn't ask just anybody what I asked you on New Year's Eve."

"Sakura – I told y-", he croaked and lifted his head to face her properly, but she quickly silenced him with the pressure of a single finger on his lips and shook her head.

"Please let me explain! I was extremely drunk and I can't remember a thing after about the fifth or sixth round of shochu – but I _know_ I wouldn't have asked the first best man to have sex with me!", she pointed out, but paused for a moment when Edward interrupted her with a disbelieving snort.

"I'm afraid it _sounded_ pretty much like it", he remarked dryly and met her startled expression with a challenging one.

"I - … I'm sorry if I gave you that impression, but- … I thought after what I told you about my past, you'd know that I have a bit of a problem when it comes to any form of physical affection! When I came home from that mission – after I first talked about it, Ino immediately told me to forget the self-pity and just get it over with by having sex with somebody I liked – at least a bit.

"It seemed – in some strange way – reasonable to me at that time, so I really tried to do that – had a few dates with another medic I knew from the hospital even. But I quickly realized that it wouldn't lead to anything if I remained as stiff as I always became, as soon as we met and thought it would help to get drunk – or at least a bit tipsy.

"Turns out I'm an overly honest sort of drunk. I told him to the face that I thought he was nice, but that we'd never do anything beyond mild kissing and he left on the spot – which I don't blame him for, I remember a few episodes from that night and I really wasn't very polite…

"Anyway – the fact that I asked you actually rather surprised me. I mean I trust you and I really enjoyed the time I spent with you, but-… I never saw you like that – or at least I thought so…" She felt her cheeks heat up treacherously and bit hard on her lip to redirect her thought somewhere else. Pain always worked quite well...

"What I want to say is", she finally continued when she'd gathered herself again, "– no matter what I told you: I asked you because of the _person_ you are, not because of something I heard from someone who heard something. You get what I mean?"

He was staring at her disbelievingly, eyebrows furrowed and nose slightly crinkled. His breath was even but sounded strained and when her eyes drifted over his shoulders and back once, she finally realized the sheen of sweat coating it. Without another thought or warning she immediately pushed him back onto the mattress earning herself an irritated grunt from her patient.

When she pulled the blanket up to his shoulders he only huffed and glared at her in annoyance.

"You realize your story is contradictory, right?", he asked dryly and only when she met him with a confused expression he bothered to elaborate the though impatiently. "On one hand you state that you're an 'honest _drunk'_ – on the other you require me to believe that you didn't mean it when you told me you just asked me because I'm easy."

A bit overwhelmed by that logic, she bit on her bottom lip thoughtfully and contemplated his words. "Did I tell you that before or after you turned me down?", she asked after a while and tried to keep her face carefully neutral.

"After – but what does it matter?"

"Well – I suppose your answer wounded my pride. Of course I'd try to talk myself out of the situation", she pointed out and shrugged helplessly. Ed seemed to consider her answer, his eyebrows furrowing slightly before he huffed.

"Should I've taken you up on the offer then?"

He was staring at the ceiling as if it would provide answers if he just kept looking at it, while Sakura pondered on how to react to his question.

It wasn't like she wouldn't be aware how handsome he was, but the fact that he could be really tactless sometimes – and to be honest, also the circumstances of their first encounter (as pathetically resentful as that was…) – had so far kept her from seeing him in that light – no matter how extraordinarily intelligent he was!

The fact that he'd been with her on New Year's Eve, when apparently nobody else was, plus the fact that he'd offered her his jacket to keep _her_ warm (despite the fact that he'd freeze, then), changed the total picture a bit. He also could've taken advantage of her drunken state – hell, she'd asked him to! – but he didn't.

She'd been told from several people she usually trusted, that she shouldn't get involved with him; that he had another man or woman every other day; that he was a skillful seducer who couldn't be trusted.

But that absolutely clashed with the things she _herself_ had learned about him over time. Of all the things one could say about Ed, he was first and foremost _honest_ – almost painfully so, sometimes. How anyone could pretend anything else was beyond her, so why did she even buy any of the things the people said about him?

Skillful seducer, not to be trusted – hah!

"If you'd accepted the offer, I'd surely have been mad at you the next day", she sighed and gave him a tired smile when she realized that his eyes had darted to her the moment she'd started to talk. "Of course I'd have been mad at myself as well, because I'd have believed you when you told me that I asked you to – you're not someone who enjoys lying. I suppose you wouldn't be very good at it either…"

He turned his head to face her properly, his eyes blinking slowly, as if he had to force them open. "So I did the right thing?", he asked hesitantly and Sakura couldn't help but laugh at how sweet he was acting in that moment.

"Of course! I can't believe that you ever doubted that – thank you for not taking advantage of my state", she told him sincerely and brushed his bangs out of his face to rest her hand on the crown of his head. This time it was not to feel his temperature, but just to run her thumb soothingly over his forehead. He'd closed his eyes somewhere in the process and hummed contently, probably not really conscious anymore.

"You're lucky you didn't – I surely would've been a pain in your ass, as soon as I realized that I'd had the first, probably satisfying sex in my life and couldn't even remember it", she muttered, more to herself than to him and couldn't help but chuckle at that thought.

He hummed again, but she didn't pay it any mind as he seemed to be drifting off to sleep and surely hadn't really noticed what she'd said.

"Scratch the _'probably'_ "

His rough voice had suddenly startled her and she felt her cheeks heat up when she realized what he was talking about.

"Would've been _great_..."

His breaths evened out soon after that statement and Sakura was left stunned and with her thoughts running a mile a minute.

How the hell could he say something like that and just doze off?!

And why did he have to look so peaceful and _handsome_ when he slept?

* * *

 **AN:** hey guys! The update came a bit earlier than usual because I was so very motivated by the feedback I got from you :)

a huge thanks to **AdrienVictus, StarKiss666** and **reebajee** for their reviews - I really appreciate it that you took the time :)

I hope you liked the chapter and some of you will give me some feedback again ;)  
Thanks for reading and till next time

~ Orange


	10. How To Be A Patient

...

" _Human pride is not worthwhile; there is always something lying in wait to take the wind out of it."  
_ ― **Mark Twain**

 **...**

 **Lesson 10: How to be a patient**

"You really don't need to stay here", Edward stated dryly, slightly annoyed by how ridiculous he sounded with his stuffed nose and raspy voice. Sakura had spent the previous night at his place – in his bed – keeping an eye on him and he really got it: he'd probably seemed quite out of it with him collapsing in the bathtub, the fever and all; he obviously really had her worried (he wouldn't have thought she'd bother to – not about him at least, but well... Apparently miracles did happen).

Had it really been necessary to stay over, though?

The corners of his mouth involuntarily turned downwards as his minor breakdown in the middle of the night came to his mind, and more importantly: that she'd been there.

She'd seen and heard it all.

Al had told him that he sometimes talked in his sleep and he shuddered at the thought of what she might've noticed. Who knew what his distracted mind had caused him to mumble while he had still been asleep. Maybe he shouldn't have talked about Mustang and Amestris with her – he probably wouldn't have dreamt about Nina if he hadn't been reminded of his past. Hell, it had almost been ten years since the whole shit happened – when would it finally start to hurt less?!

"I thought we've been through that already", Sakura sighed wearily and rolled her eyes more dramatically than would've been necessary in his opinion, "You're not fit to look after yourself yet and I'm going to stay here until you are – end of discussion!"

Well, all he could do then was huff in defeat, he supposed. "Yes ma'm", he grumbled and sank back onto the pillow. His head was hammering like mad, probably because of his fever and he really didn't have the power to argue with her – especially as he knew it was rather pointless, when she'd set her mind on something.

Though he had to admit that the thought of another showering session made him shiver uncomfortably – and he did that often enough as it was. Fucking chills and fever…

Just to have something else to do than constantly watching Sakura read her book (purely out of boredom, mind you!), he reached for the cup she'd placed beside the bed and drank some of the disgusting stuff she'd brewed for him. If it wouldn't have had such a noticeable effect, he would've told her long ago just where exactly he though this shit really belonged…

"You should've told me."

Well, that was a phenomenally accurate assessment. The woman really needed to work on being a bit more specific – it was rather uncomfortable for him to talk in his current state, so he was grateful for every question he didn't need to ask. Sakura obviously wasn't aware of that though…

He opted for grunting to get her attention, and only scowled at her when she turned her head to face him. And she seriously had the audacity to smile at him then – why the hell would she smile when he looked at her like the impolite grouch she always told him he was?!

"Your leg. No wonder you have problems with gathering chakra in your feet – the metal won't carry it", she informed him with a shrug and turned to her book again, as if it were more interesting than the topic she'd just broached.

Well, that much he'd gathered on his own by then – he didn't need her to tell him that!

He bit on his tongue to keep himself from barking a snarky comment at her and forced himself to stare at the ceiling. The ceiling at least wouldn't annoy him by piquing his interest and then dismissing the topic in favor of a lousy book.

It probably didn't hold much important information about Amestris anyway…

"If you'd told me – I could've informed you, that there's a special kind of metal that has the ability to carry chakra though", she suddenly carried on and his head involuntarily whipped in her direction – which was a rather silly thing to do, as it caused the hammering in his head to increase.

He forced his eyes shut until the worst was over and took a few deep breaths. When he dared to glance at her again, she was regarding him with a worried look, but as soon as she realized that he was for the most part okay, she grinned at him with an almost smug expression. She'd probably counted on his reaction and he could only huff in annoyance, angry that he'd played into her hands that well.

"I probably wouldn't know about it, hadn't Ino's former Sensei had two chakra blades as weapons – they seemed pretty effective", she told him, while her eyes skimmed the pages in front of her and that was the moment when his patience finally snapped and he ripped the damn book out of her hands. Without a word he dropped it on the floor beside the bed (normally he wouldn't treat a book like that, but this particular one had gotten more than enough in his hair for one day) and crossed his arms in front of his chest. The frown on his face was just for emphasis – he hoped it would get his point across sufficiently enough.

The sudden movements had caused the room around him to sway as if he were on a boat, but closing his eyes for a few seconds and taking a few deep breaths did the trick to fix his momentary vertigo.

Sakura however, cocked one of her eyebrows in return and seemed to wait for an explanation but when she realized she wouldn't be so lucky, she sighed after a few moments and shook her head. "Would you be able to work the metal into your prosthesis? I can get you some, if you want."

Taken aback by her sudden change of attitude he just blinked at her for a few times, probably looking rather dumb, but finally managed to clear his throat. "I won't – but I know someone who can", he croaked and winced, when he heard his own voice. God this fucking cold made him sound pathetic… "I'd need to travel though. She won't come all the way here – but she may be willing to meet somewhere in between."

"Huh", was all Sakura had to reply at first, but the small crease between her eyebrows told him that she was thinking hard about something and he knew she'd have a question even before she asked it. "This prosthesis of yours – do you have a name for it in Amestris?"

"Automail", he only croaked and regarded her with a questioning look to save himself the trouble of needing to rasp any more words. Sakura's face looked as if she'd figured something out, but she only shook her head in answer to his unvoiced inquiry.

He made sure to give her a disapproving glance, but she didn't seem to mind – which was apparently also the case for his private space. Without a warning she scooted closer and bent over him to fish for the book he'd dropped to the floor earlier.

He hadn't even noticed that he'd held his breath, until she was sitting beside him again and he puffed it out jerkily. Sakura gave him a worried look he had trouble not to blush at, but fortunately concentrated on her book soon enough.

He dropped back into his pillow and resumed to stare at the ceiling, but when he'd counted every plank and irregularity in the wood, he let out an annoyed huff and pulled himself into a sitting position.

"Would you hand me something to write? There should be paper and pencil on the bedside table somewhere", he pointed out and waited patiently until Sakura had fetched the desired utensils for him.

"Are those letters from your brother?", she asked and he couldn't help but think she sounded suspiciously innocent at the question. She definitely was more curious than he was comfortable with but he didn't want to lie to her either, so he simply nodded.

"Do you write each other often?"

"I'm not much of a writer", he croaked and reached for the cup of tea again, to soothe his burning throat.

"But your brother seems to be", she chuckled and gestured to the pile of letters on the nightstand.

"They're not all from him", he informed her – though he still thought it was none of her business – and finally attended to the blank sheets in front of him. He'd just written a short greeting when Sakura's voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Who else care you receiving letters from? Is there someone waiting for you in Amestris?" Even without looking at her he knew she frowned at him, her tone had given away that much. She probably thought he had a girl at home, but still fooled around with whoever was willing to...

"No."

He didn't think her question deserved much more than that – hell, he shouldn't have acknowledged it at all! – and tried to concentrate on the letter to Winry again. But a certain pink haired kunoichi obviously had other plans...

"Who's writing to you then?"

He had to give it to her – the woman was really persistent. He'd never cared much for that trait though, and she was getting rather annoying.

"Ling."

"Who's _Ling_."

"Someone who's forwarding my letters to Al – the one I shared my shoe with, remember?", he croaked irritatedly, absolutely positive that he had told her about their little boiling session in Gluttony's- ... whatever the hell it _was_ (though he hadn't gone into too much detail when it came to the _'why'_ and _'where'_...) and regarded her with a frown to keep any further questions at bay. But as it turned out, the woman was obviously immune to this sort of deterrence.

"So he's a friend of yours? From the little you told me about him, I thought he wasn't anything but annoying", she pointed out with a thoughtful tone, obviously intent on ignoring his irritated expression, if her questioning look was anything to go by.

He swiped his hand over his face and sighed heavily, when he realized she wouldn't stop questioning him any time soon. Why the hell she even cared all of a sudden, was beyond him, but he was in a too poor state to start a discussion about things that _concerned_ her, and things that _did not_ – so he gave in and answered curtly.

"Yes."

"And he lives in Xing? His name doesn't sound Amestrian..."

"Yes."

She wrinkled her nose as if she were perturbed by his monosyllabic answers, but was wise enough not to comment on it. "Why is he forwarding the letters to your brother? Doesn't your falcon know where to find him?", she asked instead, her expression turning slightly confused.

"Al's constantly traveling. Ling knows his whereabouts and has the resources to contact him as fast as possible", Ed answered dryly, feeling his temper flare slowly but sure that it soon would reach a level he wouldn't be able to ignore anymore. He had enough of her annoying questions – he had a letter to write and his hammering head and the even more annoying chills every now and then didn't make his situation any easier.

"He's an important person in Xing then? I mean if he knows where your brother is at any given time and has the people to contact him..."

"...you can say that."

"Will he also forward the letter for your mechanic?", she asked and when he briefly looked up at her to nod grimly, she quickly continued before he could've averted his gaze again, "I gather she's a woman, right? How long did you know her? When exactly did you get this automail – and did you have to replace it some time or is it still the same as when you first got it?"

He couldn't help but stare at her with a mix of bewilderment and annoyance. Why the hell was she suddenly so fucking _nosy_ – she hadn't been like that before! On the contrary – she'd seemed rather uninterested whenever he felt the need to share something with her, which usually only occurred when she'd told him something about herself beforehand.

The principle of equivalent exchange was pretty much engraved to his very core – he just couldn't help it and sometimes found himself sharing something about his past with her almost automatically. So far it had never been anything too personal though – but these questions about Winry sounded _pretty_ personal to him.

But it was possible that Sakura wasn't even _aware_ of that...

"Why all those questions?", he croaked and looked at her with a calculating glance. She seemed to be genuinely surprised and even blushed a bit if his eyes didn't deceive him.

"I'm just curious", she answered hesitantly, though it sounded almost a bit like a question as well. Her eyes settled on the book on her lap and she looked a bit lost there for a moment, as if she wasn't quite sure where her interest came from all of a sudden. "I suppose because I just realized that I don't know much about you. I mean – I know some unimportant details, like your milk-phobia; or that you regularly hunt in the forest, always making sure to leave something for Riza. I know that Kiba constantly bothers you to already visit the onsen with him. I never understood why you didn't just comply so he'd finally leave you alone, but I think I get it now. I just have the feeling that... I don't know – i think I should've known about your leg sooner, you know?"

She looked up at Ed suddenly and he felt a bit helpless when she smiled at him with a heartbreakingly sad expression, but fortunately she lowered her eyes to her lap again only a moment later. He just couldn't stand it when somebody looked at him like that – especially not when it was someone he cared about. "I can't help but feel like it's my fault that you never told me, because I didn't show any interest in you for such a long time. I know I was kind of cruel sometimes, but I hope you can forgive me for that one day. I ..."

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but suddenly looked up at him again and his breath actually caught when their glances met. Her eyes seemed to shine with determination all of a sudden and he couldn't help but long to hear what the hell caused her to look at him like that.

"I would really like to know you better", she explained calmly, while she held his gaze and he really had to struggle to suppress a smirk. How long had he hoped for something like that? "I want to learn more about your friends and family, what you like and what you don't – other than milk that is. By the way – why is there some of this _'white plague'_ in your fridge?"

Her eyebrows were furrowed in slightly worried confusion and the expression caused him to smile. "I'll show you as soon as my doctor allows me to leave the bed for more than brief trip to the bathroom. She's a bit over cautious if you ask me", he answered with a wink, but his good mood was immediately dashed by another coughing attack, that forced him to sit up.

"Good that nobody asks you then", she remarked dryly and he barely noticed that she bent over his side of the bed behind him, to reach to the ground and get the cup of tea she had prepared for him, while he slowly managed to control his breathing again. "At least it doesn't sound as bad as yesterday", she pointed out while she handed him the disgusting drink and even had the audacity to grin when he couldn't help but grimace as soon as the liquid assaulted his taste buds.

"Did you ever need to drink this shit?", he asked irritatedly, when he'd emptied the cup and she just nodded with a knowing smile.

"I'm aware that it's not exactly pleasant to drink, but it helps, doesn't it?"

"...Yeah", he admitted reluctantly, "Doesn't feel like there's much clogging my lungs anymore at least..."

"Well, if you keep drinking it another day your cough will hopefully be gone altogether", she smiled and suddenly her hand darted towards him, feeling for his temperature on his forehead, "Just your fever still worries me – it's straining your circulatory system. And with the chills you also suffer from, I can't do much to affect it..."

"I suppose you plan to keep an eye on me when I take a shower?", he asked, but was realistic enough to not get his hopes up that she'd object – and of course she nodded with a grave expression.

"I don't wanna risk another incident like yesterday", she told him in a firm voice and regarded him with a reprimanding look that – to his surprise – turned much softer only a moment later, "If we place the stool into the tub we can probably make it work without me seeing you naked again."

Cocking an eyebrow at her, he tilted his head to the side and regarded her with calculating eyes. "You didn't like what you saw yesterday?", he asked mockingly, but inwardly cursed himself for his teasing her, as soon as the words had left his mouth. He really needed to get ahold of his stupid tongue, or it would cost him his head one day – or other important parts of his anatomy...

And to be honest – he really didn't want to hear her answer. No matter what she'd say – he was fucked, as it either meant she honestly didn't like the view, or that she _did_ like it – which probably would be even worse, as that would immediately cause his much too easily excited brain to go down that road.

He really didn't want to be so close to her when that happened.

But at least he wore shorts and had a blanket to hide under, if anything showed – could've been worse...

Suffice to say, he was surprised, when her cheeks changed to an almost crimson color and he struggled to keep control of his facial features not show it. "No! I mean yes – I-", she stammered and now he couldn't suppress a smile anymore. She was really adorable when she was flustered. " _You_ didn't seem very comfortable with it!", she finally blurted out, "And you actually made quite a fuss about it too!"

Dumbstruck he could only blink at her, when he realized that she had a point there. He wasn't usually that shy, but the thought of seeing her disgusted expression as soon as she got a glimpse of all those nasty scars and – well, that absolutely not flesh-and-blood leg –caused his insides to clench up.

"I- ... You're right, that was rather childish", he admitted sheepishly and bowed his head so his bangs would hide his face, "It's just that I don't want people to know..."

"I won't tell anyone – and I wouldn't have if you'd told me before, especially if you asked me not to!", she told him softly, "I wont even tell Naruto or Kakashi."

He looked up at her with a cocked eyebrow at that. "What's with Ino?"

She snorted in amusement. "I'd never tell Ino something like that. She can keep secrets when it's something important and has to do with me or herself, but other than that she's about as hopeless as Kiba", she informed him with a chuckle.

He hummed in acknowledgment and stared down at his knees again. "Naruto knows. You can talk to him about it – he kept nagging me to tell you for a while anyway", he sighed. He really didn't want to look at her, as his own face probably gave away just how uncomfortable this conversation made him feel. But when she didn't say anything for a few moments, he was almost tempted to look up and check her expression to get an idea what she was thinking. Fortunately she finally broke the uncomfortable silence between them just before he did so.

"You told him?"

Her voice sounded small and almost hurt and he just couldn't help but lift his head and look at her then. She was staring at the book in her hands again, but he could see enough of her face to know that his words had gotten to her.

"It was inevitable. Hinata saw that there was no chakra in my left leg, when she fixed a problem with his shoulder." He had absolutely no idea why he felt the need to explain himself, but he supposed it had something to do with that devastated expression of hers. It just didn't suite her and he needed to do something about it. "It was when I was over at their place for dinner the first time, so they knew for a while now."

"Is that why she insisted to go inside on New Years Eve? I thought there was some sort of silent communication between the two of you and you seemed to be grateful for her suggestion...", she asked weakly and lifted her head just enough to meet his eyes.

"I have troubles with my port and shoulder when it's too cold", he offered softly – or as softly as his raspy voice would allow, "She realized that I was uncomfortable and obviously put two and two together. I didn't want to draw the other's attention on myself, so I didn't say anything..."

Her jaw was clenched and her mouth formed a thin line, telling him that she obviously disapproved of his behavior. "Why didn't you _tell_ me?", she demanded to know, her voice suddenly rising and causing him to wince, "It's the same when the weather turns bad, isn't it? I _knew_ something was off but I thought you'd tell me if it was something important – that's why I didn't press the matter!"

He sighed heavily. "I didn't want anyone to know", he repeated his former explanation weakly, knowing that it wouldn't change anything about her upset state.

"I can't help but feel like you didn't want _me_ to know", she muttered, her voice almost inaudibly low all of a sudden and she tilted her head down, causing her hair to act like a curtain, shielding her face from his view.

"That's not true", he disagreed softly and hesitated a moment before he robbed closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched at the touch, but didn't push him away, so he hoped it was okay. "If it weren't for Hinata's eyes, nobody here would know... I don't like talking about that leg – it always causes other questions that I really don't want to answer."

He slowly moved his thumb in hopefully soothing circles over her shoulder blade, but immediately stilled when he heard her whimper. His heart sank, as he immediately felt reminded of the night when she'd told him about her first undercover mission.

"Like the ones _I_ asked, right?", she asked, but it sounded as if she didn't really expect an answer, so he remained silent. "I'm such a fool... I'm _sorry_ Edward – I'll keep my nose out of your business..."

And the relief he felt at this statement immediately caused him to feel horrible. "I- ... I've had it for more than ten years", he forced himself to tell her, but managed to sound calm, while he resumed his massaging movements with his thumb. His hand still rested on the same spot on her shoulder. "I lost the leg when I was 11 – but I don't want to talk about the circumstances. It's- ... It's still painful to talk about."

He paused when he realized that Sakura had lifted her head, but as she hadn't turned her head yet, he still couldn't see her face. "You don't need to tell me, Ed", she whispered, "Please don't feel pressed to talk about it – I'm really sorry I overreacted like that. It's none of my business..."

"You just spent the past 24 h by my side to make sure wont bite the dust without anyone noticing – I think to call it _'none of your business'_ now, is a bit harsh", he stated gently. Obviously his words had struck a chord, because she finally turned her head. He was glad to see that there weren't any tear tracks on her cheeks, but her expression was still far from happy.

"You don't owe me anything, Edward", she remarked with a calm but firm voice and he just had to smile at that statement.

"I'd never tell you anything like that just because of a twisted sense of guilt", he clarified and let go of her shoulder, as her turned torso had caused the gesture to turn into an awkward hug. When she didn't reply anything, he assumed that he could resume his explanation just as well.

"The automail leg had to be adjusted a few times because I grew – but I got a completely new one when I was about 15 and up north. The cold strains my body – but with the right material, the stress isn't as bad. This one", he explained and knocked his knuckles against his prosthetic leg through the blanket, "is still that exact leg. It could need another adjustment though – I grew a bit since I last saw Winry..."

"Which material is it?", she wanted to know and the curious look on her face made him smile again. But she seemed to realize that she'd questioned him about his automail again, and suddenly her expression turned horrified. "I'm sorry – is it okay to ask that?"

He chuckled in amusement. "You can ask whatever you like – just don't call me rude when I don't want to answer", he told her gently and was positively surprised by how normal his voice sounded by then. Maybe he'd just needed to use it a bit.

His fever on the other hand, obviously hadn't calmed down, though. He could almost feel how the upright sitting position drained his already very limited energy with every minute and the room around him had started to sway again some time ago. Even his vision became blurry and dark at the edges at times.

"It's a blend of steel with high levels of carbon, which reduces the effects temperature has on me immensely", he explained further, "It allows me to move almost normally in regions with temperature averages below -20 and up as high as +40°C. It's more expensive though, that's why it's not used as standard material."

His glance involuntary darted to her mouth when he noticed that she was biting on her bottom lip. Her eyes were directed to the side, her expression a bit tense as if she were thinking about something.

"I have no idea how chakra metal is affected by temperature", she admitted reluctantly, while her gaze slowly slid back to him again. He had trouble keeping his eyes open, but he hoped it didn't show. "But I can get the information! It probably wont be necessary to change the whole leg – I suppose it's enough if there are some conducting cords parallel to the ones forwarding your nerve impulses in the core."

"Sounds reasonable", he agreed weakly and noted with horror how the room around him suddenly tilted and he slumped to the side like a sack of spuds – directly into Sakura's half turned body. He felt her grab him at his shoulders to steady him, but she obviously hadn't expected him to suddenly tip over and lost her balance as well. They both fell back onto the bed and when he had the presence of mind to realize the position he was in, he found himself lying halfway on top of Sakura, his forehead touching her collarbone where it merged with her shoulder.

"You could've mentioned that you don't feel well enough to sit for longer periods of time", she remarked dryly and he realized with some horror, that he enjoyed the way her voice rumbled through the body beneath him. He forced himself to reply with a groan, not trusting himself to form a sentence he wouldn't regret later. His cheek still resting on her chest, he noted how her ribcage lifted beneath him, before he heard her sigh and was almost a bit startled when he felt her fingers brush through his hair at the back of his head in an almost caressing manner.

"This position is a bit uncomfortable for me – could you shift to the side a bit?", she asked and despite her usual commanding tone whenever she demanded something, she sounded concerned. Again he only groaned in acknowledgement before he heaved his body to the side and allowed her to slip out beneath him, but to his surprise she merely changed her position so she lay straight and not bent like a pretzel as she'd been before. But when she slipped her arm through the hollow between his neck and the pillow he'd managed to rest his head on, he was downright shocked – especially when she nudged him to tilt to the side and drop the weight of his torso halfway on her body again.

There was a tense silence between them for a few moments, that he would have loved to cut with a witty comment, but there just wasn't anything that came to his mind. His head seemed completely void all of a sudden – his brain unable to form even a logical thought, let alone to command his mouth to voice one!

"I don't know if you're aware of that – but you had a few lapses in breathing last night. I only realized it after your nightmare, but I'm not completely sure if I didn't just sleep through the other ones", she told him softly and he felt a tingle rushing through his body, emanating from the spots that connected with her skin, while her voice resonated through her.

He could only hum weakly to let her know that he had heard her, not even able to crack his eyes open. The few moments he'd sat upright had cost him more energy than he'd thought and even breathing was exhausting. In this state he could easily imagine that he'd had problems with it while he'd slept.

"I'd feel better knowing that you're breathing regularly", she continued and suddenly he felt her hand petting his head again. He would've loved to tell her that he was no fucking _cat_ , but he was just much too tired to talk then. It had certainly nothing to do with the fact that it somehow felt nice...

"Just rest for a while – you'll feel better soon", was the last he heard before he stopped struggling against it and surrendered to sleep.

∴∇Δ∇Δ∇Δ∇∴

He heard himself groan when he came to, the first thing he consciously noted being the damp cloths on his forehead and on the insides of his forearms. They felt pleasantly cool on his hot skin, but just as the thought crossed his mind, a shiver ran through his body, cold and freezing.

"I'm sorry Ed, but I had to do _something_ against your temperature – it rose while you slept", he heard Sakura apologizing, her voice sounding alarmingly concerned.

"'s okay", he muttered, feeling pathetic when he realized that his teeth clattered and forced his eyes open just enough to get a glimpse of the kunoichi that was bent over him and just about to change the wet cloth on his forehead.

Her face was tense with worry; her jaw clenched and her mouth pressed into a thin line, while her eyebrows were drawn together, forming a crinkle between them. "Stop worrying so much", he rasped and tried to smile at her, "'m not worth the creases..."

She stilled in her movements for a moment and her gorgeous green eyes darted briefly to his, before she resumed her task. "Don't say something like that", she muttered, her voice still full of concern. All his comment had managed to do was even deepening the wrinkle.

Well done, Ed...

He closed his eyes with a sigh, enjoying the cool feeling, knowing full well that his next chill would probably hit him soon.

"If it doesn't go down within the next two hours, I'm taking you to the hospital", she informed him firmly, while he felt her sitting back in the place beside him. Her no-nonsense tone told him, that it would be pointless to argue with her, so he only huffed in annoyance, but accepted her assessment of the situation. _She_ was the medic after all and if she felt she couldn't treat him here, he would've to comply – as much as it irked him...

"But the compresses seem to work. Your temperature's already dropped a bit since I started the treatment half an hour ago", she tried to reassure him. He could only guess that his face had given away just how fucking _sweet_ he found the prospect of entering a hospital as a patient. She didn't normally bother to meet him that much.

He could feel his heart pound uncomfortably hard and fast in his chest, overchallenged with the strain the fever put on his body. It felt like ages until it calmed down to an almost normal pace again and he deemed himself strong enough to bring his body in a halfway upright position again, his back propped up against two pillows.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?", Sakura asked, still mildly concerned – but as the fever had dropped she'd already removed the cold compresses some time ago. She was sitting beside him, reading her book again but his change of position had managed to attract her attention.

"Yeah – I can't just lie around like a dead fish the whole day", he told her firmly and noted with positive surprise, that his voice was almost back to its usual, smooth baritone. "Would you give me the letter again? – the one I started earlier", he explained and waited until she placed the requested paper plus a pencil into his waiting hand.

"Thanks", he muttered softly, feeling quite tired despite his nap, but confident that he'd be able to write the letter now.

"No problem... I could write that for you, you know?", she suggested and when he looked up at her in confusion, he found her staring at him out of the corner of her eyes. Her eyes darted to the letter in his hands for a moment before they returned to his again. "I could write the letter for you – it would be a welcome opportunity to test my writing skills. But if whatever you intend to write is too personal, I totally understand if you prefer to do it yourself", she elaborated and shrugged as if it wasn't that important to her either way.

Looking down at the letter that so far only held a salutation, he contemplated her offer and quickly came to the conclusion that it would indeed be a nice opportunity to test her. Without another word he handed her paper and pencil back and waited until she'd arranged it neatly on the book cover in her lap. Only when she lifted her gaze to regard him with an expectant look, he began to dictate

"I'm aware that you told me to write every now and then, comma, but you know how I am, dash, I only ever take the time to do so when it's really necessary, period. I'm afraid it's time again and I need your help, dash, there is a special metal I'd like to implement in my leg and I probably could do it myself, comma, but we both know you'd probably kill me for screwing up your automail-"

" _Her_ automail?", Sakura suddenly interrupted and looked up at him with a frown.

"She made it and she's always referred to it as _'hers' –_ although I clarified more than just once that it's definitely _my_ leg", he explained with a huff, slightly annoyed when he thought about Winry's strange view of things. "But I want something from her – so it's better to meet halfway. Which is actually exactly what I'd like to ask, so would you resume writing please?"

"Of course, _Sir_ ", she answered with a mock-seriousness that almost caused him to grin and repositioned the pencil, ready to write again.

"The problem is, double dot, I'm in Fire Country at the moment and not nearly finished with all the things I intend to learn here, period. Would it be possible to meet you somewhere in Xing, question mark. Open bracket, Ling, I know you're secretly reading this, comma, so be of use for once and suggest a meeting place Winry can easily reach with the newly constructed rail connections, comma, but wouldn't be too far of a journey for me as well, close bracket", he dictated with a sigh. To indicate that the next sentence wasn't meant to be written down, he decided to start it with her name. "Sakura, please start a new paragraph. There." Only when she briefly looked up at him and nodded, did he continue.

"I hope to read from you soon, period. Give granny a hug from me, period", he closed and gestured her to hand him the letter so he could proofread it.

"No _'best regards'_ – not even a simple _'yours'_?", she asked a bit bewildered when she'd placed the paper into his palm. He was almost painfully aware of the brief contact, when her fingers touched his, but tried to ignore his inappropriate excitement about it.

"Not necessary – I'll simply sign it to proof that it was indeed me sending the letter and scribble the date somewhere, so she has an idea how long it'll take her letter to reach me", he shrugged and began to scan the lines she'd written. But even after the third time he couldn't find a single mistake.

"I have to admit: I'm stunned", he stated and looked up at her. He watched as her lips immediately curved into a huge smile at hearing that and felt almost a bit smug for causing her to beam at him like that. She seemed to be really happy that she'd done a good job.

And that she _had_ – her handwriting was _meticulous_ , especially if he compared it to his own when he'd still been in the Military. He was naturally right-handed, but the automail had lacked the dexterity to handle a pencil, which is why he had to write with his left.

Suffice to say that he'd sometimes almost pitied Mustang when he'd turned in his reports...

When he'd regained his arm it had become better again, but his handwriting was still kind of a challenge for anyone who wasn't used to it...

"I'm glad I could help", she replied and opened the book she'd been reading in again.

"Well, it obviously was at least good for something", Ed muttered a bit perturbed that she'd directed her attention toward that annoying tome. Again. "I'm pretty sure there's nothing in there I couldn't tell you just as well."

She lifted her head and looked at him with a surprised expression. "I usually have to worm every little piece of information out of you – and I wouldn't even know what to ask for, so it's easier to simply read a book", she explained, but shut the thing nonetheless. Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth for a moment, while she obviously contemplated something. "I have one specific question though: is there a reason why your country has started every single war they've been involved in over the several last centuries? It's a bit conspicuous I think. People usually strive for peace after times of war – but not the people in your country it seems."

"You're right, there have been only very limited periods of peace since the fall of Xerxes", Edward sighed and sank back into the pillows. His eyes scurried aimlessly about the ceiling while he thought of a way to keep his explanation brief, but informative – without telling too much.

"The person in charge of the country, wasn't human and has basically been the same since the founding of Amestris. He had ulterior motives and wasn't interested in the people's wellbeing. Only recently he was overthrown and with Mustang as head of the country now, we'll probably have the first chance for peace in more than 500 years."

When his gaze wandered from the ceiling to Sakura again, he was a bit baffled that she didn't seem to be surprised at all. She regarded him with a thoughtful frown, but other than that she made the impression, as if she'd expected such an explanation.

"There were some rumors, that there'd been some sort of monster in the west – a creature that was able to suck peoples lives out", she began to explain her lack of surprise softly. "A handful of people were able to overpower this monster with the help of a part of the military – I suppose that you and this new Führer had a part in that battle?"

"...Yes."

"Are you sure that the hope you pin on the new leader of your country won't be dashed?", she asked gently, her face concerned now. He was a bit irritated that she obviously mistrusted his judgement, but when the story about her first undercover mission came to his mind again he understood why she'd doubt Mustang's intentions.

A new leader wasn't necessarily a better leader…

"I'm absolutely certain that he will change Amestris for the better – its what he's lived for since the Ishvalan war", he explained patiently and couldn't suppress a smile when one of Colonel Bastard's goals in particular crossed his mind. "The female military personal will have to endure some major uniform changes though..."

When Sakura cocked a questioning eyebrow at him, he only shook his head and chuckled. "Trust me – you don't want to know."

She eyed him skeptically for a few moments but sighed then, brushing her fingers absentmindedly over the book cover in her hands. "You trust this person a lot", she noted carefully, "I suppose you know him well?"

"I already told you he was my C.O. while I was still State Alchemist", he reminded her, slightly confused why she brought that up again.

"From what I this book tells me-", Sakura began to explain and tipped her knuckles against the tome for emphasis, "it doesn't seem like there was much of a human relationship between Commanding Officer and Subordinate. You on the other hand sound as if… as if he was – _is_ – a friend of yours."

"Aaahhh – now I understand what you're getting at", he chuckled. "He was pretty close to all his subordinates – everyone of us would've gone through fire for him, as he would've for anyone of us. But that's a good thing, isn't it? It shows that he's _there_ for the people – a mindset the previous Führer _severely_ lacked."

She chuckled at that and nodded eventually. "You have a point there", she admitted and smiled at him, "Maybe we can even consider to work out some peace treaties with this new Führer of yours – trading with the west would be great for our economy", she added after a while, a thoughtful frown on her face. He was just about to tell her that he'd love to help with that, when she suddenly jumped up, throwing him completely off track.

"What're you-", he started dumbly but was interrupted before he had the chance to end his question.

"I'll get you a bowl of hot water and a washcloth – you'll only give yourself a catlick today", she informed him nonchalantly and disappeared in the bathroom without giving him the time to object. He was rather irritated that she decided something like that over his head (and made no secret of it), but still accepted the warm and damp towel when she handed it to him. Without a word she helped him into a sitting position and placed the bowl with the water beside him on the bed.

"I'll give you some privacy and take a shower myself", she told him with a wink before she started to rummage in the little bag she'd brought with her the previous day, "Just stay put and don't do anything reckless!"

"Yes ma'm", he replied dryly and made sure to give her a very unimpressed glance before she disappeared into the bath once more.

He made good use of the time she left him to his own devices and made sure that he'd be thoroughly cleaned when she returned. It was a tiring task though – rubbing his skin, wringing the towel out whenever he needed to wet it again.

He was pathetically spent when he was done.

Hell – he couldn't _wait_ to be well again! This whole patient business was really not his idea of spending a good time…

* * *

 **AN:** Hey there – sorry, this update comes a bit later than usual ^^' I had a lot going on at the University – and as I'll have my final exam soon, I probably won't be able to update till about mid-July. I'm really sorry – I hope you can wait so long and won't loose interest… -_-

A huge thanks to **reebajee, AdrienVictus, SpellingsBruh, Nameless I am, CalicoKitty402** and **Seven Purple Chickens** for their reviews!

at **SpellingsBruh** : I'm _really sorry_! I should've looked that up -_- I already fixed it and I hope I didn't miss any _'fewer'_ ^^' Thanks for pointing that out!

Thanks to everyone for reading – I hope some of you will be leaving reviews again (I really appreciate it if you do!)

Till the next chapter  
~ Orange


	11. How To Give (A Little) Trust

...

" _There are two kinds of fears: rational and irrational- or in simpler terms, fears that make sense and fears that don't."_ _ **  
― Lemony Snicket**_

* * *

 **Lesson 11: How to give (a little) trust**

" _Finally_ ", he muttered and released a relieved sigh as he closed his apartment door behind Sakura. After about one and a half days of arguing with her, he had eventually been able to convince her that he was fit enough to spend the night alone. Not without proving his regained strength by showering without the stool he'd sat on the past few days – _and_ without any incidents – of course. Like always she'd kept a watchful eye on him during the process, prompting him to ask if she was totally sure that she was only there because of her worry for his health. That she'd turned the deepest red he'd so far seen on her, had been a bit surprising but nonetheless amusing, causing his ego to recover from the days it had to endure the embarrassment of someone leading him wherever he had to go – even if it was just to the bathroom to piss…

Ed was really grateful that she'd gone out of her way to look after him while he was – now he could admit it – unable to do so himself. But _hell_ – it was _weird_ having her around 24/7 and fussing over him when she was usually either a stern instructor or an eager student. He had had difficulties to get used to the fact that she acknowledged him as something like a friend now – for the lack of a better fitting word – but of course she had to stick her nose into his business as soon as he so much as coughed the wrong way. Sakura suddenly giving a fuck about his wellbeing – and especially her genuine worry – had changed their dynamic yet again and that made him... _uneasy_ , to say the least…

He couldn't exactly remember when it was that he nodded off, but he supposed it was the second his cheek touched the cushion. His energy was still nowhere near its usual level and it would take a while before he would be able to start his training again – the physical as well as the chakra control training.

However, he was absolutely sure _what_ woke him in the morning: the hammering of a fist onto his door accompanied by a worried voice asking him if he was okay – as he apparently needed quite a while to reach the door in his half-awake state.

"You look... tired", Sakura informed him warily, when he'd let her in with a yawn he was barely able to cover with his hand in time.

"Oh, come on – we're past that stage! Say what you really think: I look like shit", he grumbled before he trotted over to the fridge, rubbing his tired eyes with one hand, while he opened it for the first time in five days with the other. "Please sit down – you're making me nervous if you keep standing there." He silently watched her taking a seat at the small table, aware that she eyed his every move, when he grabbed the milk bottle and sniffed at it to make sure it hadn't turned sour yet.

"Very reassuring picture...", Sakura muttered under her breath, but he ignored the comment and prepared everything he'd need for the pancakes he planned to bake.

Thanks to the rather mild climate in Konoha, he could usually eat some berries to his pancakes or he trickled them on top before he turned them. But as he hadn't been able to go for a hunt in a while, his stock had already run out and he had to make due with apples. When he waited for the butter to melt in the pan he had already peeled them and by the time he filled the batter for the first pancake in the pan, he had a few slices ready to top it.

"I wasn't aware that you're a cook as well – is there anything you _can't_ do?", Sakura commented with a sigh and if the sound of her voice was anything to go by, she was at least mildly annoyed.

"Well, I'm not much of a cook – I just know a handful of recipes, but as I have a lot of … experience with eating-„, the woman had the audacity to snort there, as she was probably recalling one of the times they'd had lunch together, prompting him to send a silencing glare her way, „-I've got a hunch what tastes good and the things I improvise usually don't turn out too bad."

When he took another glance over his shoulder and noticed her unimpressed expression he sighed and decided to play along and share a bit more. "You should know by now that I'm really not good with people – privately I mean. It's one thing to play my role while I'm at work, but another to genuinely interact", he answered her with a shrug, not having the time to look at her while he turned the pancake. "Not many people can stand me for a longer period of time – but the feeling is usually mutual, so it's no big deal"

"Is that why you have these... _flings_ instead of a real relationship?"

The question startled him a bit and even more so the tone she'd used to ask it. It made him almost believe that she didn't _mean_ to judge him; she even seemed to be kind of concerned.

With a sigh he rubbed a hand over his face in slight annoyance, before he turned to lean against the counter, facing her with a small frown. He had no idea why everyone made such a fuss about it – it wasn't like he was the only one with such a lifestyle. From what he'd heard the Hokage himself had another bed bunny every other night…

"It's a bit much to call them _'flings'_. It's actually a one time thing – two times at most", he informed her matter of factly, aware of the crease that immediately appeared between her eyebrows, but blatantly ignoring it. "Apart from what you were getting at – that I'm not in a relationship because nobody can stand me long enough – it wouldn't be wise to start something _here_ ; when I know I won't be staying."

He watched as her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth, like it always did when she was either concerned or needed to think hard about something and that was his cue to turn around and serve the first pancake. With how close they'd gotten at some points, while she'd been fussing over him the past few days, it was even harder to keep his thoughts in check now… He wordlessly handed Sakura the plate (with a fork instead of the usual chopsticks, to keep it authentic) and waited patiently until she'd taken the first bite.

"And?", he inquired eagerly, while she munched slowly on it. When she looked up at him, her face held a seriousness that surprised him a bit, given his innocent question. Maybe she was pissed because he didn't let her eat in peace? He could totally understand that, he us-

"It sounds like a rather cheap excuse, if you ask me", she stated and put the fork down as if she wanted to make a point.

Blinking a bit disoriented for a few times while he tried to grasp why the hell the woman just couldn't _leave_ some topics _be_ , he just stared disbelievingly at her.

"I meant the _pancake_ , you know", he pointed out and – reminded of the one in the pan – he quickly turned to flip it. Maybe she'd take the hint and let the topic slip – but of course he had no such luck.

"I'm aware. It's delicious – I never doubted that. Now back to the issue at hand!"

Glaring indignantly over his shoulder he huffed in annoyance. "It's not like I try to make excuses", he pointed out, a bit irritated now, while he kept his eyes on his soon-to-be breakfast, "I wasn't aware that was necessary in the first place..."

There was a brief pause, getting Ed's hopes up that the issue was finally over – but of course Ms. I'm-sticking-my-nose-wherever-I-please-regardless-if-it's-appreciated-or-not had other plans… "Like I said: it _sounds_ like you're making excuses – if you'd be content with the situation, you'd have told me that – and nothing else", she reasoned calmly and if the screeching sound of a fork scraping on a plate was anything to go by, she'd started eating again.

"I _am_ content – you may not believe it but I enjoy having sex and I've lived like this for quite a while! I'm touched that you're concerned on my behalf, but trust me – I like how things are", he stated, slightly irritated now, while he put the finished pancake on a plate and filled the pan with the next one. "I don't get what your problem is", he muttered – more to himself than to Sakura – while he placed the apple slices on top of the batter, "And I thought _Kiba_ was persistent…"

"Kiba talked to you about this?", she asked in disbelief while he took the first bite of pancake, still standing at the counter and less and less inclined to accompany Sakura at the small kitchen table. He could understand that she was confused – he'd been as well when the man who bragged about his sexual encounters the loudest, had raised _his_ way of living to question. If he applied this logic differently, Naruto could just as well start to scold him for eating at Ichiraku's...

Hypocritical Dog-man…

"Yes", he replied flatly, munching on a piece of pancake while he watched the other sizzling in the pan.

" _And?_ What did he say?"

"Ask Kakashi – he was there as well most of the times the topic came up."

There was a brief pause and Ed supposed she was frowning at him grimly, but as he still had his back turned on her, he couldn't be sure. "Why can't you just _tell_ me?", she sighed, sounding almost as annoyed as he felt right then and a moment later he heard the chair legs scrape across the floor, warning him that she'd probably approach him.

"If for some reason your leg is a factor – this is probably one of the places you'll find someone who _really_ doesn't give a damn." Her voice was much gentler all of a sudden, but despite the fact that she was close enough for her body heat to seep through the fabric of his shirt, he stubbornly kept his back turned to her and his eyes on the plate before him, viscously maneuvering piece for piece of his breakfast to his mouth as if he'd get a reward for being fast.

"Many of the ninjas here have at least one nasty scar and some even had to quit their jobs because the mechanics of our prosthetics are nowhere near as advanced as yours", she continued, obviously ignoring the fact that he tried to give her the cold shoulder, "In fact your leg will probably rather attract than repel. I'm just saying..."

He'd finished his pancake somewhere in the middle of her little speech and just stood there with his hands on the counter, silently waiting until she'd finished whatever the fuck she felt the need to say. When she'd finally stopped, his temper was running alarmingly short and he turned on the spot in a quick movement, glaring down at her with all the ire he had accumulated. Sakura was standing so close, that the action caused her nose to connect with his collarbone for a moment, but she hastily took a step back, her cheeks turning a pretty pink – _but he wouldn't think about that now!_

"Do _you_ have such a _'nasty scar'?_ ", he inquired and was a bit taken aback how venomous his voice sounded. Sakura's eyes widened briefly, but she quickly controlled her expressions again and merely shook her head. "And as far as I can tell you still have all your limbs as well", he spat, before he could have contained himself. By this point he'd raised his voice enough that his neighbors would probably hear him as well, but he couldn't have cared less at that moment.

"You have _no_ idea what it feels like, to be confronted with this fucking _pity_ whenever someone sees your body for the first time, nor do you know anything about the pain when someone's flinching just because you wanted to touch them. _Of course_ there are some geeks who get the kicks from automails, but I'm not just an exhibition piece either! I'm a human being and as such, capable of feelings – _and_ making my own decisions for my very own reasons, so leave me the hell alone with this shit about _'finding someone'_! I don't _need_ anybody! I already _have_ people I can trust – I don't need any more! – _I'm just saying!_ "

During his little outburst Sakura's expression had changed changed several times. First she cringed a bit, then a frown appeared on her face, but by the time he'd spat her own words into her face and had managed to reign his temper again (at least somewhat), she was glaring at him angrily.

Yes – her left eye was twitching a bit and the way she gritted her teeth left no room for speculations: she was _angry_. He had absolutely no idea why though, as – in Ed's opinion – _he_ was the only one who had a right to be. But of course he didn't have to mull over possible triggers for her current state for long, as she was stabbing a finger in his chest and informed him about the reason – none too quietly either, if he might add.

"Why do you always need to act like a _jerk_ when I try to be nice?!", she shrieked, but apparently it was a rhetorical question, as she didn't give him any time to answer and continued without even taking a breath, "I'm a medic – I've seen some pretty severe physical damage and trust me: you don't have _any_ right to whine! And whoever was the shallow person who shied away from your touch, doesn't deserve still being thought about – you should have forgotten about him or her the moment you turned your back on them; it's their loss if they're petty like that..."

With every spoken sentence, her voice thankfully calmed down a bit, so his neighbors at least wouldn't be able to listen into their whole argument, the last words leaving her mouth more in a murmur than anything else.

"I know it can be hard to cope with the loss of a limb – but it's been a while for you now. You should be over it already!", she huffed and her finger finally stopped poking him, in favor of crossing her arms over her chest. It was almost funny to watch her. It seemed like she was sulking, with the little pout that had formed on her lips.

"Who the hell cares for such things anyway?", she suddenly asked with a slightly sharper tone, but again she didn't leave any room for him to speak, "I could totally understand it, if you're avoided because of your poor manners – hell sometimes I think you only bother to drop a nice word, if you can get something out of it in return! But who the hell cares for your leg? It's not like it really matters!"

When she paused for a moment – probably to take a breath; she'd ranted on and on with practically no time for more than a brief gasp – he quickly used the opening to finally put his own two cents in as well.

"It wasn't always just my leg", he stated, before he could've thought twice about it. His voice was calmer now – if not even a bit amused by how upset she was. "The details are complicated and I don't want to elaborate them, but I had an automail arm as well at some point. That's why touching was a problem", he explained and continued dryly, but with a small smirk, „I don't usually _touch_ with my feet, you know."

He'd cocked an eyebrow at her, daring her to say anything about _'not having any right to whine'_ (he hadn't been whining in the first place, damnit!), but of course that information wasn't enough to stun the woman into silence and she clicked her tongue. " _Semantics_ – it doesn't matter either way", she hastily informed him, "whoever the person was – they didn't deserve your attention anyway!"

"Huh? So you wouldn't have had a problem if I touched you with a cold, hard metal-hand?", he inquired, frowning at her now. He didn't have the first idea why she got so worked up over the topic, but he couldn't believe that she didn't give a fuck about looks at all.

Hell – from what he'd heard, she'd had a crush on _the_ heartthrob of Konoha since she'd attended academy – and the guy wasn't exactly known for his amiable personality, so it had had to be his looks that had attracted her – at least at first. As above all things as she liked to picture herself now, he was sure there had to be at least _some_ criteria a man needed to fulfill in the _'looks'_ department, to attract her attention.

"No, I wouldn't!", she replied stubbornly and put her hands on her hips, "I would've been glad that you had a hand at all and didn't need to live without one!"

He eyed her determined expression with a wary gaze, but sighed in the end. "If you _say_ so – another pancake?", he asked tiredly, while he poked the black mass in the pan with a wrinkled nose, "I think this one needs to go to the bin..."

Any further discussion of the matter was thankfully avoided with that and the rest of their breakfast proceeded in rather uncomfortable silence. There was an almost tangible tension between them, but neither of them dared to say anything, unsure if it might trigger another argument.

Still, Sakura kept him company during the day and by afternoon they'd both calmed down enough to interact at least somewhat normally again. Around half past seven, Naruto came by with a bag of takeout from Ichiraku's and filled him in about the going on's he'd missed, since he caught this flu – or whatever the shit was, that had kept him confined to the bed for four days – which finally managed to distract them enough to put things back to normal between Sakura and him.

It took almost a week until the woman deemed him fit enough to resume their routine again. They had of course not slacked off, but merely kept to theoretic stuff – alchemically as well as chakra-wise. After the forced hiatus, he was glad to note that he didn't seem to have any problems with his chakra control, when Sakura asked him to walk on water again – on his hands of course; the problem with his inability to concentrate chakra into his metal leg remained and it took another three weeks until he got word from Winry.

The letter was rather curt, but he hadn't expected anything else as she'd been rather snippy ever since he'd told her that this half assed proposal of his at the railway station had been a mistake.

 _Hey Ed,_

 _glad to read you're still alive. If it weren't for Al keeping me posted, you could've frozen to death in Drachma or drowned in the sea in Creta or Aerugo for all I knew...  
_ _According to how long your letter took to reach me and what Ling informed me about, I'll wait for your arrival in the Emperor's city by the beginning of March._ _I hope you've taken care of my leg!_

 _Granny says hi and wants to know if you intend to come home at all again?!_

 _Regards,  
_ _Winry_

He swallowed hard when he'd read it the letter, painfully aware that there wasn't the usual _"Hugs and kisses"_ he'd come to almost _expect_ from her, since she'd started writing them to Mustangs office in an attempt to stay in touch, back when they'd still been on the road and hunting for the Philosopher's stone. Her regards weren't even ' _best'_ or ' _kind'_ ones – just an empty phrase you'd write to anyone but someone you've been friends with ever since early childhood.

But he ignored the uneasy feeling her unattached wording had caused, in favor of skimming one of the two other letters the envelope contained.

 _Hello my dear, sorely missed Bookworm!_

Well, _that_ was definitely something else than ' _Hey Ed'_ – not that he would've like Winry to address him like that! That was a rather disturbing thought and would've been _way_ out of character – totally _normal_ for Ling, though...

 _It hurts to see how much you mistrust me, but I have to admit, that I_ may _have read one or another of your correspondences. Addressing the topic at hand first: it is probably the best if you head for the Emperor's city – you already know your way around here and Miss Rockbell can travel here by train without any problems. I told her it will probably take you at least a month to get here, but I suppose she's told you that already._

 _I've actually delivered your letter in person, as I had planned a little vacation in Amestris anyway. Your new Führer will be inaugurated soon and it is always wise to show your respect to the heads of other nations. He accommodated me and my entourage in the guest chambers of the Führer's estate, he apparently doesn't reside in yet. The man is cunning and charming as ever – and at_ least _as attractive._

 _Shame on you for telling me he's strictly a ladies man by the way! I couldn't help but let one or two appreciative comments slip and he definitely didn't respond like someone who only swings one way. But apparently he's past the stage of fooling around and intends to get serious now, so maybe you should get your ass up and back to your home country soon – he's still single, but I guarantee you he won't be for long; if the vultures I've seen ogling him have any say at least..._

 _Anyway – I'm looking forward to see you soon. If you haven't turned up by beginning of March I'll start sending searching teams after you – so don't slack and get your nice butt here – I miss it ;P_

 _Feel hugged my pretty little friend,_

 _Ling_

Gritting his teeth at the _'little'_ comment at the bottom, he quickly proceeded to the last letter, ignoring the strange feeling that had spread in his chest at reading that Mustang obviously wasn't as straight as he'd thought he was.

Of course the greedy bastard wouldn't be satisfied with only one gender...

 _"Hello brother,_

 _I hope you're back to your usual grumpy self by now. I was really surprised when I received such an uncharacteristically long letter from you, but when you mentioned that you were to stay in bed – by orders of your very own medic – it_ of course _made kind of sense. Despite the poor state of health you've been in, I'm glad I got a bit more information to work with this time – even if it was just because you simply hadn't anything better to do._

 _So you mentioned Sakura cared for you while you were sick – and she also saw your leg – but you withheld the information how it even came to that! I can't imagine you asking for help, let alone showing her your automail willingly – so please explain the how and why! I'm curious to know how that played out and I hope you didn't manage to scare her off with your undoubtedly rude reaction... But as she's probably used to it by now, I'll just assume that you're still alive and kicking and she's still around, introducing you to the secrets of chakra control and the use of jutsus._

 _I'm so glad to read that you'll be coming to Xing soon – even if it's just to get your leg adjusted! I'll try to be in the capital by the end of February and will see to it, that I can stay there for at least as long as it takes you to arrive. I just hope there won't be any emergencies that need my expertise – lately there have been some floods in the south, while some of the remote northern settlements were snowed in completely. May and I have been quite busy lending a hand wherever it's needed, so I can't promise we'll see each other – but I dearly hope so! It's been too long already..._

 _You didn't tell me much about Naruto, 'Mask-guy' and 'Dog-man' in the last letter – I hope they're all fine? I can only imagine how hard the life as a ninja is from what little information we were able to gather here in Xing – I hope neither of them had any tough missions lately. I'm glad that you've let a few people get close to you – even if you probably pretend that's not the case – I'd be devastated to read something happened to one of them..._

 _I got word from our soon to be Führer a few days ago, after I told him that we wouldn't be able to make it to his inauguration. I had also informed him of our whereabouts and what your goals are at the moment and he seemed quite interested in his reply letter. You should definitely talk to him whenever you return to Amestris – I think he plans to work on peace treaties with the bordering nations as soon as he'll be officially named Führer. I bet he would be interested in the idea of starting such negotiations with the Elemental Countries as well._

 _That's all i have to tell you for now. Look out for yourself a bit more and don't catch a cold again – I want to see you soon and you won't be able to travel if you're ill!_

 _I hope your next letter will be just as informative as the last one._

 _Love,_

 _Alphonse_

 _P.s.: Stop with your childish questions about May and me! Last time I read your letter beside her and she took a look at it as well without me realizing. She was clearly uncomfortable in my presence after that and this is completely your fault! You know very well that there is nothing more between, us than a strong friendship – so stop reading anything more into it, just because you've developed a crush on your tutor!_

∴∇Δ∇Δ∇Δ∇∴

It was a few days later when he shuffled through the woods around Konoha with Kiba in tow. Because it was his day off from both work, and his training with Sakura, he'd slept in for once – so it was almost noon already.

"Man – I can see you shivering from _here_ ", Kiba shouted his way and Ed could only sigh when he realized how right the man was. It wasn't exactly _cold_ (at least if he compared the temperature to what he'd experienced in Drachma), but still chilly enough to make his shoulder and thigh throb uncomfortably.

Relieved that he'd controlled and defused the last snare he'd set, he made his way over to his ninja-friend. Kiba's crouched posture led him to believe that the man had found the snare he'd pointed him towards and was just about to defuse it – but if the time it took him to do that was anything to go by, it had probably caught something.

He and Sakura would be leaving for Xing the next day and he wouldn't have the time to prepare anything from his catch – so he had decided to take Dog-man along and surrender it to him. The ninja had quite a few hungry mouths to feed, so he had been rather thrilled about the idea.

"You should really come to the onsen with me later – you'd warm up in no time! And the view is quite nice as well – if I may remind you", Kiba told him with a wink, when he strolled Ed's way with one dead rabbit more in his hands, while Akamaru kept eyeing the dead animals longingly.

Ed rolled his eyes in his usual display of annoyed disinterest – just as he always did – but honestly gave the idea a though for once. He was tired of always telling the idiot _'no'_ and the hot water would certainly relax his muscles; not that he wouldn't be able to take a bath in his flat just as well, but maybe it was time to give in.

Dog-man surely wouldn't pester him as relentlessly anymore if he accompanied him for once and he – and anyone else they'd meet at the bathhouse, for that matter – wouldn't have time to pester him too much about his leg, as he'd be gone for at least two months. Hopefully they'd have forgotten about it by the time Ed returned from Xing.

And Sakura's words were definitely _not_ what made him rethink his previous mindset on that matter!

"I guess I'll accept your offer this time – I could really use a relaxing bath", he stated with a shrug and watched out of the corner of his eyes how Kiba's expression lit up like the spotlights directed towards the hideous statue of King Bradley had back in Central, whenever the clocktower stroke eight.

The both of them brought the catch to Kiba's place where he merely stored it in the fridge just as it was, before they proceeded to the onsen. It was the first time he saw Dog-man going anywhere without Akamaru in tow, for a longer trip than just to take a piss – but he couldn't very well leave the poor nin-dog outside to bore himself to death. At home he had at least the other dogs to socialize with.

"I still can't believe you really came along", Kiba laughed when they walked through the big entrance into the lobby of the bathhouse. It was a great room with lots of dark wood, contrasting with the bright shades of the stonewall. A huge desk in the middle of it, dominated it. The old woman sitting behind it was barely recognizable, as two piles of towels left and right of her nearly blocked her view.

Dog-man obviously had something like an annual pass because he only grabbed two towels and proceeded to the changing rooms without so much as a greeting, but Ed had to pay a few Ryo entrance fee to the wrinkled, unfriendly old hag before she handed him two towels as well and pointed him into the same direction his friend had taken.

"I hope that'll be worth the money – or you'll buy my drinks the next time we go out", Ed grumbled when they entered the men's changing room. There were long benches along the wall and lockers arranged back to back in the center, forming two narrow aisles towards the pool.

"Of course – but I promise you won't regret it!", Kiba only laughed while he pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it into the locker in front of him. "It's Sunday, so there'll be a lot to see on the other side", the ninja informed him and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Tsunade should be here soon – we'll have to be careful, but she's definitely a sight to see!"

Ed only rolled his eyes and shed his shirt as well, while Kiba laughed about his _‚feigned'_ disinterest (there wasn't anything _‚feigned'_ about it, but he'd let the idiot believe it; he wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise anyway…).

He eyed the other man as inconspicuously as possible while they kept unclothing themselves. For all he could see the ninja had four bigger scars on his body: three along his abdomen, parallel to each other and probably inflicted by one and the same weapon, and one over his right thigh. All four of them had certainly been quite painful wounds once, but now they were just patches of slightly lighter skin, with rather smooth edges if he might add – nothing like the hideous scar tissue around Ed's port and shoulder or where the pole had impaled him…

When Edward had opened the buckle of his belt – his fingers lingered on the button of his trousers for a moment. There was nobody else with them in the changing room, but that didn't mean they'd be alone in the onsen as well.

Swallowing his last doubts, he quickly opened his pants and shoved them down before he could've gotten any second thoughts. He'd already placed his shoes and socks in the locker so it was easy to wriggle out of the rest of his clothes with a few practiced moves.

"I can guess why you've been reluctant now", Kiba's thoughtful voice suddenly startled him and he warily turned his head to face the ninja, when his fingers had just been about to turn the key to the locker. "You wouldn't have needed to be, though. But I'm a bit surprised that life as a civilian can be _that_ dangerous..."

Kiba's eyebrows were furrowed in slight disbelief while his gaze was still directed at Ed's left leg. "Whoever said I was a civilian? And didn't your mother tell you that it's rude to stare?!", he shot back and finally locked the locker, placing the key between the towels the wrinkled hag had handed him earlier.

"True. But it's not the bad kind of staring, you know that – right?", his friend carefully pointed out and he could practically _feel_ his concerned gaze lingering on himself, while they trotted towards the showers.

"I guess – it's still rude though", he informed the man gruffly, while he placed his towels on the, about shoulder high, wall between the stalls and stepped into the shower. Before Kiba could have replied anything, he quickly turned the water on and furiously started to rub the sweat from his skin. Any word Dog-man could've said was effectively tuned out from the rush of the shower's spray.

When he stepped out of the stall several minutes later, Kiba regarded him with an unamused look but didn't bother to say anything. It was only a guess, but Ed assumed he'd taken a bit longer than the ninja would've deemed it absolutely necessary and was therefore slightly pissed because he'd felt forced to wait for him.

They stepped outside side by side and Ed heaved a relieved sigh when he spotted the pool. Only four people were in the water at that time – two of which he'd only seen once or twice. But when he took a closer look he realized that the other two were Genma and Kakashi, which drew a slight frown on his face.

"Yo, big boss!", Kiba shouted from beside him and Ed could barely refrain from shoving the idiot head first into the water for his obnoxiously loud mouth. Of course the formerly oblivious Hokage's turned his head into their direction and he could clearly see the surprise when the dark eyes spotted him. Dog-man was already on his way over to the both of them, while Ed still wondered why the hell he'd given in in the first place, but in the end he still followed the idiot, albeit reluctantly.

„Fancy meeting you here", Kakashi greeted Ed when he planted himself beside Dog-man on a natural bench of stones. The warm water reached up to his armpits and he had to admit that it really felt relaxing. The bamboo fence Kiba had told him so much about (on more occasions than he was willing to remember) was right behind them and the man in question was also already spying through a tiny hole.

"Tsunade isn't there yet", Genma informed them with a knowing grin and Ed could only scoff indignantly.

"Don't tell me you're spying on them as well?!", he exclaimed gruffly and when the other only shrugged with a sheepish smile, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Isn't there _anybody_ with at least a _bit_ decency?!"

" _I've_ never looked – but I have to admit I don't really understand the appeal either", Mask-guy (who actually wore the black cloth in the water as well; now at least the question, if it was part of his shirt was solved: it wasn't; the mask ended at his throat) commented, not particularly interested in the other men's questionable hobbies and closed his eyes, when he'd leant his head back against the fence.

"Don't you think you should do something against it? You're the Hokage! They're violating the women's privacy!", Ed pointed out with an incredulous tone, wondering how the man could remain so unconcerned.

"Oh _shut up_ , Ed!", Kiba shouted and shoved him to the side with so much force that he had difficulties to keep his head above the surface. "It's not like they wouldn't risk a peek every once in a while as well – if they knew you're here, they'd probably queue from here to the Hokage tower to get a look."

"Now you're exaggerating a bit", Kakshi muttered, his eyes still closed in a relaxed expression.

Dog-man gave him a glance and seemed to consider his words for a moment. "Okay – but from here to Ichiraku's."

The Hokage opened the unscarred eye to regard the other man with a thoughtful look, before he closed it again with a hum. "Probably."

Ed and Genma had watched the exchange in silence and even if both of them seemed to doubt Kiba's statement, neither voiced their opinion. The two voyeurs fought over the right to look through the hole, which turned into an annoying water-battle and caused Ed and Kakashi to relocate themselves out of the way of the two idiots.

When they'd settled at a spot close to the others but outside of their immediate battlefield, Ed leant back against the fence as well and tried to relax as much as he was able to in such a loud environment. He'd been sitting like that for about ten minutes when he felt someone's gaze on himself and opened his eyes again to look for the culprit – which he didn't have to look far for.

Kakashi was openly watching him from the corner of his eyes, a mischievous grin visible in the way the shadows played along his mask.

"Interesting leg you have there", the man commented straightforward, "Mind telling me where you got that? Is the design common in Amestris?"

Ed lowered his gaze to the water surface and frowned at his reflection before he replied. "My neighbor made it – she's an automail mechanic, so yeah – the design is quite common. Though it varies from mechanic to mechanic."

There was a brief pause, which Ed was almost sure would end with the question of how he lost his leg in the first place – but he was proven wrong. "Do you think you could get her to give you the plans for this – or bribe her to come here and teach a few people how to build them?", the Hokage asked calmly, but he didn't bother to mask his interest in the topic. "You know enough about our lifestyle by now, to know that injuries are a regular issue we face in our line of duty – it would make many lives a lot easier if we had access to this kind of technology and I'm pretty sure it's less time consuming and expensive to build than the limbs Sakura managed to grow in her lab."

Surprised about the direction this conversation had taken Ed looked up at the other, only to see that the man's head was leant back against the fence, his eyes directed at the slowly coloring sky. "You know... the reason I'm leaving tomorrow is actually that I'm going to meet her in Xing", Ed admitted and bit on his lip guilty. He'd spun lies about a friend needing him for some emergency in Xing – which he'd reenforced with the information about the floods and snowstorms he'd received from his brother – when he'd asked the man for permission a few days prior.

To be totally honest he hadn't really _asked_ , but rather _informed_ the Hokage that he wouldn't be available to continue Sakura's training for about two and a half months at least. When the man had only grinned at him to tell him that said medic had already filled him in – well, to say he'd been baffled would be an understatement. But when he'd told Ed she'd be accompanying him he had been at a loss of words for a few moments.

"Sakura got a hold of a few grams chakra-metal for me and my mechanic will try to implement it in my leg. Shouldn't be much of a problem for her", he told the Hokage in a subdued voice and chanced a sheepish glance at the man. "I'll ask her of course", he allowed carefully, when the man's eyes met his again, "but I can't promise anything..."

"That's more than I expected", Kakashi replied evenly and the shadows playing about his lips suggested a smile forming beneath the black mask. With a faint huff the man leant his head back against the fence to look into the sky. "You know – I was wrong about you. Normally I pride myself for my rather accurate sense when it comes to judge people's characters", he told Ed calmly, but his voice was so low, it was almost a whisper. "It probably didn't really help your case that I received a warning from Suna, two days before you tumbled into my office. But a least I couldn't bring myself to really reject you – despite my initial mistrust."

Ed was a bit baffled about those unusually honest words coming from a man who generally had a rather secretive aura around himself. He was never really sure if the man meant what he said, or if it was just some kind or joke – but right then Ed was pretty sure his words were honest for once.

To tell the truth, he had already suspected that the Kazekage had sent word about him to the other Kages, but having it confirmed, made the grudging respect he had developed for the redhead (after hearing several stories about him from either Naruto, Sakura or Kiba) shrivel back to it's previous size.

"I'm glad you changed your mind about me then", Ed stated rather lamely, not really sure what else to say. The other man chuckled as if he hadn't expected a reply at all and turned his head to look him straight in the eyes.

"I know you're aware that I was toying with you at the beginning", Kakashi stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "But lately, it's not been much of an act. I'm genuinely interested – just so you know!"

Ed felt his jaw slacken but couldn't help it – he probably looked like an idiot gaping at the Hokage like that, but at that moment he was too shocked to care.

"And I'm glad you told me about the real intent of your mission to Xing – not even Sakura wanted to share anything about the details, so thanks for filling me in", the man continued smoothly without missing a beat, as if he didn't mind being stared at by an idiot who couldn't even bring his own mouth to close.

Had the bout of honesty ended when he'd told him about the letter from Suna? Was this an act again – leading the naive Alchemist on?

Or was the man really – in all seriousness – interested in Ed?!

Suddenly his throat felt uncomfortably dry and he swallowed thickly, only vaguely aware of Genma stage whispering that "Tsunade just got here!".

"And that's my cue – I don't want to be involved, should she realize the idiots are watching her...", the Hokage muttered and suddenly stood up, wading towards the steps to exit the pool without giving Ed any time to object.

All he could do was stare disbelievingly and still a bit stunned at the retreating back, he had fantasized about for months. But now that he had it in full view for once – only moments later accompanied by the other parts that had been hidden in the water so far; fuck, the man had a really fine ass… – he was a bit surprised that he didn't feel the faintest desire to follow the guy and press him on what exactly his _'being interested'_ entailed.

Sure, he'd be leaving the next morning, but that didn't mean he couldn't have a bit fun tonight regardless. The silly crush he'd had was undoubtedly gone – but when exactly that had happened he wasn't too sure. He'd realized that it had become easier to act nonchalant whenever Mask-Guy made a move on him at work, but he'd thought nothing about it – repetitive exposure and habituation and all that...

But as happy as he was to realize that he'd been able to shake this annoying infatuation with the man off, he couldn't help but feel like he'd unconsciously replaced the object of his desire with another one…

Sighing in annoyance he slipped a bit deeper into the water so only his head was still above the surface and tried to ignore the two idiots fighting about the right to peek through a silly hole in a wall. He wasn't too successful though – and the fact that they mentioned the arrival of a certain pink-haired kunoichi on the other side of the fence didn't exactly help his case.

How the fuck should he survive a whole month – _24/7!_ – in her presence without giving her a reason to doubt his professional attitude towards her?

He was fucking _screwed_ …

* * *

 **AN:** hey there my lovely readers :) I'm really sorry it took me so long but here it finally is - the 11th chapter ^^' I just hope it was worth the wait - I can't help but feel a little disappointed as there wasn't much progress, but I just had to let Ed have a sincere conversation with Kakashi (without any masks beside the apparent one...) and well... this little discussion with Sakura had been looming for some time now ^^'

A big thanks to **AdrienVictus, KorraPanera, GoldenMoon1997, Nameless I am, PrincessShetland, caipher** and **TimDrake** for their motivational reviews – they really meant a lot to me (and who knows how long it would've taken me to update if it hadn't been for your kind words ^^')

I'm not too sure when I'll be able to update again. I still don't have a job but looking for one is pretty time consuming as well and I also feel the need to polish my knowledge up a bit (or lots...) in a few subjects so I won't make a fool out of myself when I start working... ^^'

Thanks for reading :)  
~ Orange


	12. How To Keep Cool

_"-yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often."_  
 ** _Albus Dumbledore – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince_**

* * *

 **Lesson 12: How to keep cool**

It was fucking _hot_.

Ed's clothes had been soaked for hours already, the ridiculous heat of Wind Country's desert causing his body to work against him. Especially his leg was killing him – cause even if cold temperatures were the worst to deal with, this fucking heat was a pain in the ass as well...

"Tell me why we have to travel in the middle of the day again?!", he grunted in annoyance, trying his best to keep up with Sakura, while still concealing his slight limp.

"Because we have an appointment with the Kazekage in three days", the kunoichi didn't miss a beat to remind him calmly, seemingly unaffected by the merciless sun, „Wouldn't make a good impression if we were late for that, would it?

In fact, they wouldn't have to hurry now, it they had been at the border of Fire and River Country on time, but _someone_ took ages, saying goodbye to their friends – especially one dark haired friend with a stick up his ass. Why the guy had bothered to see them off with the others at the ass crack of dawn was anyones guess, but for some reason Ed always felt a spark of anger flare inside of him, whenever he thought back of Sakura clinging to the guy as if her life depended on it...

"Yeah – and if we'd departed from Konoha like _planned_ , we wouldn't have been delayed in River Country", he pointed out with a dry tone. No fucking wonder there – he'd already lost all fluids his body could spare some time ago, his mouth feeling as if he'd chewed some of the sand they were walking on...

"Oh _shut up_ – you said your goodbyes as well!"

"Yes. To _everyone_. Within five minutes", he deadpanned, sending a pointed glare her way.

Sakura stopped a moment to regard him with an annoyed frown, before she continued to lead them across the dunes. "Now you're being mean", she grumbled.

"I'm merely being _honest_ – there's a difference!", he insisted and couldn't help but wince when he stepped on his automail leg the wrong way and his already aching port shot another, more vicious wave of pain up his leg. Fortunately he was still a few steps behind Sakura, so she remained oblivious to his predicament.

"No – you're being _mean_!", she insisted and wheeled around, after she had stopped in her tracks to confront him with a hard glare. „You know how much I care about Sasuke".

He just stared flabbergasted at her for a few moments, before he shook his head with a heavy sigh. "That's exactly why someone needs to address it – you seem to ignore the facts otherwise!", he pointed out sternly, his voice held an almost gentle tone though. "It wont do you any good to run after him for another ten years. All you'll achieve with that is wasting your youth away! And by the time you'll finally realize your mistake, you'll be too used to being alone, to stand anyone else for a longer period of time – do I need to continue, or did you get the gist?"

Sakura's face was contorted into an annoyed frown, but when she seemed to realize that her expression didn't faze him at all, the wrinkle between her eyebrows eased and she sagged her formerly tense shoulders, with a heavy sigh.

"When did this conversation take this turn?", she asked tiredly and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Other than Ed had thought, it seemed as if the heat was getting to her as well after all. "Of course I know what you're getting at – contrary to your belief I'm very much aware of his disinterest in me as a woman, but-", she bit on her lip for a moment, but then let it go again with a sigh, "I just can't help it! Every time I'm in his company I fall back in old behavioral patterns! It's pathetic – I _know_ – but I really can't do anything about it. How should I treat him in your opinion? – simply ignore him? Behave like he was just someone I know – a simple acquaintance?"

Her voice sounded almost desperate, as if she was seriously asking for his opinion, but all he could come up with was a lousy "That would be a start I guess?!", before he shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

Sakura snorted in frustration and averted her face for a moment. She seemed to contemplate something but just when she was about to voice her thoughts their eyes met for a second and she changed her mind, turning on her heels and stomping ahead in a tempo Ed had trouble to keep up with.

His two Cents on the matter had pretty obviously not been appreciated, but he still didn't regret addressing it. Uchiha wasn't interested in her and probably wouldn't ever be – she would do good to finally accept that fact...

When they had walked in tense silence for another two hours, the pain in his leg had reached a level that couldn't be ignored any longer. Sakura was several hundred meters in front of him already, but he wasn't for the life of him able to even take another step. Slumping down on the spot he'd stopped in, he clapped his hands together and touched them to the ground, causing the sand to form a shady dome above him with enough room between the piers for the wind to cool his sweat soaked body. On the other hand the transmutation also created a deep enough crack in the sand to be visible, starting in front of his makeshift resting spot, and spreading all the way over towards Sakura – which would hopefully attract her attention and cause her to stop for now to return to him.

Despite the pain he was in, he couldn't help but chuckle when he heard her faint "What the hell?!" in the distance, announcing that she at least had to be aware of his unwillingness to continue their journey.

Only seconds later she was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips and her torso bent forward, her face invading his personal space dangerously. "Care to enlighten me what this is about?", she huffed and gestured towards the makeshift dome he'd created, "We still have to cover a few miles before we can rest for the day!"

"I tried to keep up with your insane speed as best as I could, but I've reached my limit!", he informed her with furrowed brows and an equally annoyed tone. Did she enjoy torturing him or had she seriously forgotten that he was kind of handicapped?!

She snorted dismissively and righted her posture again. "I'd have thought you had better stamina than that", she goaded in an amused tone, the glint in her eyes telling him she was trying to bait him.

Anger flared through him at her sheer audacity and before he knew it, he was pulling his left pant leg up rashly – which he immediately regretted when the rough fabric brushed along his already wrecked skin around the port in the process.

But it could've been worse. In hindsight he was pretty thankful that he had decided on wider clothing than he usually wore for their trip across the desert, otherwise this whole scene could have ended with his waistband around his knees just as well and – well, that would've been a bit awkward...

"What the-", Sakura was about to object, but when she laid eyes on the angry red flesh around his port her demeanor changed immediately and one of her hands moved to cover her mouth in a gesture of shock, before she bent down to inspect the damage.

"Why didn't you _say_ anything?", she demanded, but none of the usual bite rang in her voice. Actually she sounded almost apologetic which was pretty out of character for her...

"That wouldn't have changed a thing", he muttered and couldn't contain a hiss when her fingers gently touched his blistered skin, "We still need to be in Suna within three days..."

Sighing deeply, before she lifted her head to meet his gaze with a serious expression, she shook her head. "No we don't", she stated calmly and bit into her right thumb, drawing blood, while her other hand slipped into her dress to retrieve a scroll. Curious Ed watched as she opened it with a practiced move, before she drew a sign on the paper.

She'd told him the crucial steps needed for summonings, but he had never had the opportunity to watch one before – and he was amazed when a green light emanated from the scroll, only to reveal an about watermelon sized slug (of all the things she could've summoned?!).

"Katsuyu-sama – I'm sorry to trouble you, but could you inform the Kazekage that we've been delayed and will probably arrive later in Suna than ...appointed...?", she politely addressed the oversized mollusk, tilting her head in a slight bow.

"Of course Sakura, I'm always happy to help", it replied and vanished with a plop, just as quickly as it had appeared. Blinking stupidity at the space the animal had just been in, Ed tried to process what just happened.

"Fuck", he muttered in frustration when he realized she'd been right, "I should've told you sooner..." The woman only hummed in agreement but offered him a small smile before she placed her hand on his injured leg. It glowed a familiar green for a moment and just like that, his pain subsided into nothingness.

"It will never cease to amaze me how easily you pull that off...", he admitted and carefully probed the flesh around his port to make sure it was really healed to the core – which it apparently was.

"I'm glad I could help – but just to put this straight: I'll never do that again, so don't let it go that far and – for _gods sake_ – _tell_ me when you're in pain!", she huffed and poked him hard in the chest for emphasis, her eyebrows furrowed in an irritated frown again.

"Okay, okay – I get it", he muttered and lifted his hands in surrender, "But we should really just travel in the morning and evening hours – as I suggested from the beginning, if I may remind you..."

Sakura only shot him an unimpressed glare and wrinkled her nose. "We'll camp here for a few hours and continue then, as long as you can take the cold", she stated and flopped down on the ground beside him without a warning. "And don't you dare get a frostbite!"

And he didn't.

But to be honest it probably wouldn't have taken much longer, because when he demanded to stop for the night he'd been suffering from the cold for hours already. He built them a shelter out of sand again, but this time he made sure to make it look like the snow-shelters he'd seen in the north, to keep the little warmth the small fireplace had provided inside as long as possible.

"I can see you shivering over there", he muttered, clearly noting the glare the statement had earned him, in the dim light the still glimmering coals provided, "Just come here already – I don't bite!"

Sakura had brought a sleeping bag, while Ed had just a few layers of blankets, but all in all they were evidently more effective than her sleeping spot; besides he wouldn't have been able to fit in her sleeping bag as well, but she shouldn't have had any problem joining him under his blankets...

"There's no need – I suffered through colder nights", she informed him stubbornly, but if his ears hadn't deceived him, her teeth had clattered a few times while telling him as much.

"If you say so", he sighed and closed his eyes tiredly. The woman could freeze as long as she wanted for all he cared. "But the offer stands", he pointed out and yawned, "Good night, Sakura."

The last thing he was aware of before he drifted off, was a faint "night" from across the fireplace.

Not nearly as faint was his yelp he made, when he woke to something cold touching his leg and back.

"You didn't need to yell into my ear", he heard Sakura's almost whining voice (she really must've been tired to allow such a tone...) from somewhere below his jaw and now that he thought about it, he could also feel her breath against his collarbone.

"Excuse me?! But you shocked me half to death", he exclaimed incredulously and backed a bit away to be able to see her properly. It was almost full moon so the sky was bright enough to provide some light through the hole in the roof of their makeshift camp. Sakura looked pretty tired and had probably not been able to find any sleep so far. And if the cold that had woken him was anything to go by, she had been freezing for a while.

"Give me your hands", he demanded and a little part of him enjoyed finally being able turn the table on her. She'd hugged them to her chest after she'd obviously tried to warm them by putting them on his back, but had withdrawn them hastily when he reacted so violently. With some reluctance she complied and held her hands out to him. Without a word he closed his own around hers, slightly worried by just _how_ cold they felt, and breathed warm air on them.

"I can do that myself...", she pointed out halfheartedly, but when he looked up for a moment to gauge her level of irritation, he noted that she had averted her head and seemed almost shy.

"Oh, just shut up you stubborn woman", he muttered and couldn't help but roll his eyes, while he tried to sneak his flesh and blood leg between hers. She seemed startled by the move, which caused Ed to heave a heavy sigh. "You tried to warm them up earlier, didn't you? I should probably roll the pant leg up a bit – you won't be ably to profit much from my warmth otherwise...", he mused and simultaneously reached down with one of his hands to do exactly that. He realized that she'd obviously had the same idea as well, because when he placed his leg back alongside hers, he noted that she must've gotten rid of her leggings altogether.

"I thought it would be more effective like this", she immediately explained, but he only grunted in acknowledgement to let her know an explanation wasn't necessary.

"You should've joined me when I told you to", he pointed out, trying to sound just as reprimaning as she had, when she told him something similar about ten to twelve hours before, but his voice ended up much gentler and not at all as he would've liked.

"...probably."

And that was probably the most he could've expected as an acknowledgement of her faults from her. He only snorted faintly, amused by how uncomfortable her voice had sounded and started to rub his hands up and down her back to warm her up a bit faster.

"Just don't wait that long tomorrow."

"..."

"Your feet felt like ice bricks. I can imagine much nicer moves to wake somebody..."

"... that hadn't been my intention anyway", she grumbled defensively, but when he chuckled she quickly shut up again.

"Well, what did you expect? – Anyway, I demand a nicer treatment tomorrow – that's the least you can do for this warm-up service here", he joked, but despite the easygoing front he put up, he was well aware that he'd probably have some difficulties falling asleep that night.

∴∇Δ∇Δ∇Δ∇∴

When they arrived in Suna – only a day later than appointed – Ed was more than glad when the grumpy blond who'd been introduced to him as the Kazekage's sister (the lack of humor obviously ran in the family...) guided them to two separate bedrooms for the night.

He hadn't been able to get even two hours of sleep without interruption for the past several nights. Though the reason had been his mind spinning stories of Sakura sleeping in his arms under very _different_ circumstances in the first night, he'd been worn out enough to immediately drop off the following ones.

The problem was though, that a certain kunoichi had a much more fitful sleep than was healthy for him, and he'd been woken several times each night, by knees accidentally kicking his thighs (or even more painful, his groin...) or elbows digging into his stomach. His chances of finding sleep again afterwards, had been slim at best...

Spending his night on a mattress again (a really comfortable one, with thick duvets and perfectly fluffy pillows) was a blessing – and he was definitely thankful for the hospitality, especially as he had to face the Kazekage the next morning. Last time he checked, the man hadn't thought too well of him and if the eerie, piercing glare he sent Ed's way was anything to go by, the impression he had of him had definitely not changed for the better...

"I am pleased you are visiting Suna again, Sakura", the redheads deep, smooth voice greeted the kunoichi, "But though the Hokage informed me about your company, I cannot claim the same for him."

Ed couldn't contain a grumbled "way to make a man feel welcomed", but it probably didn't reach the Kazekage's ears. Sakura's however, _did_ perceive it – at least if the elbow connecting with his ribs was anything to go by.

"This is actually one of the things I wanted to talk to you about", she addressed the still stoically emotionless guy, as if she hadn't just knocked the air out of Ed, "Of course I have a few medical plants with me again and will be heading right to your greenhouses after our meeting. But Kakashi also sent me to make sure you knew that Konoha is absolutely certain that Ed poses no threat to our nations."

Ed had to admit he was positively surprised by that news. He'd been aware that the Hokage obviously hadn't been as wary of him lately, as he'd been in the beginning, but not that he seemed to _trust_ him now. The Kazekage however was obviously unimpressed by Sakura's statement, his non existant expression not changing even a bit.

"I've worked with him for several months now and if you need me to, I'd even go so far as to vouch for him!", she tried to convince the man, but seemed to bite on granite, if his uncaring appearance was anything to go by, "Did you know that he saved Sasuke?"

Sea-green eyes slowly moved to settle on Ed and if he'd thought he had been uncomfortable staying in a room with the brick, it was nothing compared to the feeling of being practically screened by those strangely perceptive eyes.

"I will admit that I was positively surprised by that news", the redhead stated calmly, apparently answering Sakura's question and therefore talking to _her_ – even though his eyes still rested on Ed, "But it is also true that the Uchiha is not a person I would have missed overly much. It would also be wise to keep the idea in mind, that this had been a maneuver to deceive you and lull you into a false sense of security."

Ed noticed how Sakura's eyes flicked to him for a moment, before they settled on the Kazekage once more. "I admit it is a possibility – but a highly unlikely one. He taught me what he knows – I'm able to perform easy transmutations all on my own now! – why would he have done that, if he planned to harm us in any way?", she reasoned, her tone becoming more and more frustrated.

The Kazekage still regarded him with his penetrating gaze, as if Ed's appearance alone would reveal anything. The room was uncomfortably quiet until the redhead finally broke the silence with a simple question.

"Did you look into his eyes Sakura?"

The kunoichi seemed rather annoyed by the implication that she hadn't (which Ed totally agreed with) and just cocked an irritated eyebrow at the man. "How else would we have taught each other? _Of course_ I looked him in the eyes every now and then!"

Even though the kunoichi had clearly lost her temper and wasn't acting at all as she should in front of a Kage, the man still kept a straight face.

"You obviously did _not_. Otherwise a woman as intelligent as you wouldn't act as carefree in this man's presence", the Kazekage pointed out matter of factly and Ed involuntarily felt his eyebrows furrow.

It was one thing to mistrust him, but another to accuse him of intending to harm Sakura. He had just opened his mouth, about to finally inform them what he thought about people talking about him as if he wasn't present, when the redhead beat him to it and followed his statement up with another one.

"Those eyes saw more than any human being should be allowed to."

And just like that Ed's breath stuck in his throat and his eyes widened in surprise. He wouldn't have pegged the guy of being that perceptive and had thought he was merely paranoid – which probably sort of came with the job. But it was kind of shocking how accurate the statement was...

Silence settled in the room once more and when he dared to look at Sakura again, he found her eying him suspiciously.

Shit – he'd probably given himself away with his stupid, much too expressive face...

"You may have a point", Ed reluctantly broke the silence, when neither of the other two in the room seemed inclined to do so, trying his hardest to sound calm and composed, "But just because I have knowledge that could devastate whole countries, doesn't mean that I intend to ever make use of it! I'm here to learn and find new ways to solve problems, so I won't have to regret not being able to save a life ever again. Don't treat me like a criminal!"

He felt Sakura's eyes heavily resting on him, but kept his glance directed at the Kazekage, returning the man's glare with an equally stealthy one, not because he was angry or frustrated (which he both was!) but simply because he knew the redhead would interpret it as weakness or ascribed deception to him; even if he suddenly felt like emptying his stomach on the guy's office desk – being reminded of his past always left a stale taste in his mouth – he stood his ground and stared into those unwavering sea-green eyes until the Kazekage finally directed his gaze towards Sakura once more.

Thankfully the kunoichi immediately cleared her throat and lead their conversation in another direction, addressing their reason for their stop in Suna once more (the plants) and he was glad that their attention had finally shifted back to other matters than his trustworthiness, because in all honesty: all he wanted now, was to get this asinine meeting over and done with...

He couldn't help but heave a relieved sigh when the Kazekage finally dismissed them. Sakura rounded the man's table to wrap him in a rather informal hug before she bid him goodbeye, but Ed was glad he even managed to utter a half-assed "bye" before he left the room – and seriously, the bastard should've been thankful he received even that much...

"That could've gone smoother", Sakura only sighed, while they descended the stairs to the building's ground floor and he couldn't help but roll his eyes. Of course she'd pester him about his inability to keep his temper in check when it counted...

"It's probably best if you go to the market and buy us some food rations so we'll be able to get to the border without being forced to make detours for food. I'll drop the plants off at the greenhouse and get us a few medical supplies, just in case..."

And thus he ended up buying cheese, bread and as many dates as he was able to carry in the fucking hottest hours of the day. By the time he finally arrived at their temporary quarters he was soaking wet again and in dire need of a shower – but of course something as luxurious as that wouldn't be available in a country, suffering such a dry climate as Suna. Every drop of water was precious here and even if they were accommodated at the Kazekage's home, it only contained one common bath with an admittedly beautifully adorned, but rather small bathtub. Ed quickly went to work the old fashioned but still skillfully formed pump to fill a water jar and helped himself to one of the washcloths placed on the table beside the bathtub. He could probably have used alchemy to get rid of all the sweat just as he'd already done it with his clothes, but he would still feel cleaner and more refreshed after washing himself thoroughly.

He'd just gotten rid of his shirt and was about to unbuckle his pants when he heard the door to the bathroom open behind him. Not bothering to look over his shoulder to identify the intruder, he merely lifted his gaze to the mirror in front of him, to find none other than the Kazekage himself standing behind him.

The man didn't seem surprised by the fact that his bathroom was already occupied by another, but that didn't say much. Ed hadn't witnessed much of a movement in the man's features so far, after all. For all he knew the redhead's facial muscles could've had some sort of defect and were frozen in place...

"Your chakra is very distinctive – it's practically shouting for attention."

Well, if that was his explanation for rudely entering a bath he'd known to be occupied, then Ed was glad he didn't have to work with the guy. God only knew how the lazy Mask-man could remain on good terms with the redhead...

"So you were looking for me?", Ed asked, not mentioning the elephant in the room – that he was half fucking _naked_ , and the Kazekage obviously didn't seem to mind at all that he kept his guest from his well deserved bath (or what would be called as much in Suna). Making a show of having at least some sense for basic manners (as the only person in the room it seemed), he turned to face the man directly.

"I just told you: I had no need to", the redhead replied without batting an eye and closed the door behind himself without a hurry. He lifted his arms to cross them in front of his chest, before he continued calmly. "However, I need to ask a few questions about the little you revealed about yourself."

Eying the Kazekage warily, Ed let go of his pants altogether, realizing his longing for hygiene would have to wait, and brushed one of his hands frustratedly through his hair. "Why am I not surprised...", he muttered bitterly, but lifted his gaze to regard the other with an expectant glare.

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

Was that brick serious? Did he really have the audacity to ask him something like that?!

"Isn't that a bit rich coming from someone like you?", Ed asked in return, not able and in all honesty also not really making an effort to mask his irritation anymore. "How many kills does it take to become Kage?!"

He'd had a few discussions with Naruto about the topic – and even if they found common ground in the end (as Naruto was the kind of guy who'd never enjoy taking a life) Ed doubted the redhead shared their views.

For the first time since he met the Kazekage, he saw the guy's composure crack a little. A small crinkle formed in the space between his eyebrows (or rather where they should've been) and his already rather tense mouth slimmed to a stern, thin line.

"I need to figure out if you pose a threat – and your unwillingness to cooperate is not helping your case", the man stated in a threateningly low tone and suddenly Ed could see dust rising from the gourd on the guys back. It was the same he'd already seen in the Kazekage's office, only then it had rested against the desk peacefully. "I would advice you to answer my questions as it is not a coincidence that I see you at a time Sakura isn't close by."

"That's a thinly veiled threat if I ever hear one...", Ed pointed out and clapped his hands once to form a transmutation circle. He wasn't sure what the shit slowly creeping his way consisted of, but he was pretty certain it could severely harm him if the Kazekage so wished, therefore it was only wise to shield himself as effectively as possible – even if only with the air around him. If he managed to cause the particles to oscillate fast enough, the movement should be able to hold most of the stuff at bay – at least in theory.

"I ask you again: have you ever killed someone?", the Kazekage's deep voice rumbled through the room.

"I'm hunting since I was a kid – so what do you think?", Ed only deadpanned, while he watched nervously as the dust – or could it be that it was sand? – crept closer still and started to whirl around him.

"I was talking about people – as you well know", the other man growled and caused the sand – Ed was sure now, that it was sand – to surround him completely, like a boa wrapped around its pray before it killed it with its vice-like grip.

But to Edwards relief, his plan seemed to work, as there was still about twenty centimeters between his body and the sand. If the Kazekage kept this thing up, he'd soon have difficulties to breath though...

Still, although his position was everything but rosy, Ed could't help but smirk gleefully as he noticed the redhead's invisible eyebrows furrow in obvious confusion.

"How are you doing that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?", Ed asked in a singsong voice, trying to conceal the fact that all this sand was rather disconcerting him; he would probably run out of oxygen soon, as talking diminished its amount even faster. "Stop this nonsense and maybe I'll answer a few questions…"

The two men stared intently at each other, waiting for any hint of weakness in their opponent, but just when Ed thought he'd have to die of suffocation because of both their stubbornness, the sand slowly began to retreat and give him more space. Inwardly he relaxed a bit, but outwardly he didn't let any of his relief show.

"I will not ask you another time. Have you, or have you not killed people before?", the Kazekage asked in a low, no-none-sense voice that clearly told how stretched his patience already was.

"I only ever killed one person – and I'm not sure if it would be correct to call him _'human'_ so I'll go with _'no'_ ", Ed drawled, feigning disinterest, while he inconspiciously brought his palms together, to remove the invisible barrier between them. He instantly felt the difference with the next breath he took, but made sure not to let it show how much better this made him feel; the sand was still looming around him – and much too close for his comfort…

"You are able to look at me with the calmness of a person who is either ignorant enough to be unaware of the danger I pose, or very confident in their abilities", the redheads continued calmly, not voicing his next question yet. "I can obviously dismiss the first option in your case, as your demeanor – and your chakra – tell a story of their own. How does a person from a country known to be unaware of even the _existence_ of chakra come to posses such a powerful and distinctive one as you?"

Ed had difficulties not to wince at that particular question, even if he already saw it coming when the man first mentioned why it had been so easy to find him. Biting on his bottom lip he hesitated for a moment, but came to the conclusion that it was in his best interest to answer as truthfully as possible – which he did.

„I'm not completely sure myself, but I came up with the theory that it probably has to do with a few desitions I made – which led to me having more insight into the truths behind- ... well, pretty much _everything_. This knowledge still comes in handy from time to time – but I paid a price for it", he explained calmly, meeting the attentive eyes of the Kazekage with equally allert ones. "Nothing in life is for free – if you want to gain something, you have to give something in return."

The redhead's eyebrows twitched for a moment, as if in recognition, but the man immediately schooled his features into his usual, unrevealing mask.

"I see", was all the Kazekage offered and averted his gaze briefly, almost giving the impression as if he'd have to contemplate his next words. "It took me a while to understand that, but fortunately someone made me realize…"

"It's the basic principle of alchemy – you don't have to be a genius to understand it", Ed couldn't help but point out, still a bit miffed that the man had managed to bully him into revealing as much as he had.

"I never said he is a genius – but he _does_ have a knack for handling people", the redhead retorted and if Ed's eyes weren't deceiving him, he even saw the hint of a smile appearing on the other man's face. "Do you plan to stage a coup – start a revolution or anything like that?"

Ed frowned at that question. Was the guy serious? "That's a pretty redundant question – if I was, I wouldn't tell you, would I?", he pointed out, but when he noticed the Kazekage's gaze harden, he quickly relented, "I understand that there are some people who are unhappy with the direction your countries are headed now – especially former mercenaries and some unemployed ninjas. But I think this is the right way to go – negotiating instead of fighting with your neighbors will definitely be rewarding in the long run. Why would I try to sabotage that? ...And why do you even give a shit? – I'm just _one_ man!"

One of the redheads eyebrows rose as if he wanted to ask if Ed was really serious. "Don't insult me, Edward Elric. There may be another country between mine and yours, but the tales about the Fullmetal Alchemist _did_ reach my ears", the man stated calmly and even with a small smirk, "You were one of the leading figures in the coup d'etat in your country – who's to say you don't plan to repeat that somewhere else?!"

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Ed glared irritatedly at the man in front of him. The man really had some nerve, talking about things he didn't even know the half about! "My country suffered under the militaristic regime led by a person who wasn't even human", he spat angrily and approached the redhead in his outraged state. Only when he became aware of the sand whirling around him as if ready to embrace him in a deadly grip, he stopped in his tracks and forced himself to calm down again. "This coup was necessary – my country and its people suffered long enough!", he stated wearily.

"I see", the redhead only replied again and stared at him for a moment. Ed became painfully aware that they'd never been as close before and struggled to suppress the urge to retreat a few steps, as the penetrating gaze of Suna's most powerful man was even more disconcerting close up, than it had been with a few feet between them.

"I'll leave you to your bath now."

And with that the Kazekage turned and opened the door, about to slip into the dark corridor outside.

"Wait a moment – I have a few questions as well!", Ed blurted and grabbed the man's shoulder before he could've thought better of it.

With an eerily slow movement the Kazekage turned his head to regard him once more with his piercing gaze, before his eyes drifted to his shoulder were Edward's hand still held him back. "There was a time when I would have killed you for that", he stated calmly as if he'd just talked about the weather. "I do not have time for your questions now", the redhead informed him after a pregnant pause and turned to leave again, but just when Ed's hand slipped from his shoulder he continued in an almost mocking voice, "You will have to visit again, if you really want some answers. I believe Sakura plans to leave for the northern border in the evening."

Before Ed even had the chance to reply, the door closed in his face, leaving him alone and pretty annoyed about Fire country's head ninja.

The brick really had a nerve to leave like that! He'd had time enough to ask his questions but none to answer some in return?!

Someone seriously needed to teach the guy some manners…

* * *

 **AN:** Hey guys - I'm still living ^^'

Sorry that it took me so long, but I really struggled with a few parts of this chapter and had a lot other things to do and think about -_- I hope you still liked it and will leave a few comments ;)

Best wishes  
~ Orange


	13. How To Seek Somebody's Comfort

...

"There is always Joker to see through the delusion. Generation succeeds generation, but there is a fool walking the earth who is never ravaged by time."  
 **—** **Jostein Gaarder (The Solitaire Mystery)**

 **...**

Ed was uncharacteristically quiet – and he'd been for a while. Usually he wouldn't stop complaining about everything he didn't particularly care for (which were pretty many things, Sakura had learned…), but almost since they'd first set foot on sand, he hadn't talked much, if he hadn't been addressed.

It was a bit unnerving; this silence. She wasn't used to a quiet Ed and she _knew_ , just because he wasn't cussing a mile a minute, didn't mean his thoughts were on intermission as well; on the contrary – she was almost sure the opposite was the case and that made her even more uncomfortable…

What did he have to think about with such a level of concentration? _He_ – who was one of the smartest (not to say _the_ smartest) guys she knew?!

A shadow quickly scurrying across the sand, caused her musings to pause and she looked up at the sky with her hand shielding her eyes from the sun. She could clearly see a medium sized bird – probably a raptor – but only when the animals circles around them began to descend, she was sure it could only be Riza.

"Come here, girl!", Ed's underutilized voice rasped and he quickly put on one of the thick leather gloves he always carried in one of his pockets. "Haven't seen you in a while – did it take you long to find me?"

The hawk landed gracefully on his forearm and immediately held out one of its legs, shrieking impatiently when it took Ed a few moments to unclasp the envelope attached there. They would need to cross a mountain range on their way to Xing; a mountain range impressive enough to serve as a border.

Unfortunately it wasn't exactly safe to attempt a crossing at this time of year, which is why Sakura had asked Gaara if he had connections to someone who knew the area and would be willing to help and guide them. He'd agreed to contact someone on their behalf – which is why Ed left Riza behind: to make sure the Kazekage had a means to reach them if he got any news.

As soon as Ed had removed the envelope from Riza's leg, the hawk hopped up his arm to rest on his shoulder. It almost seemed as if the bird _knew_ , he'd need both hands to open it without accidentally ripping the letter – which Sakura didn't put past the rapor; after all it had been intelligent enough to always find them so far.

"Contact will wait in Tobruk. You need to pay them. Show this letter as proof that you are the ones I sent. Sabaku no Gaara – Kazekage", Ed read dispassionately and looked up at her with an unimpressed face. "The guy is such a pro with words", he commented sarcastically and shoved the letter back into the envelope, "Such finesse is definitely noteworthy..."

"Oh, can it, Ed", she just replied wearily and rolled her eyes. Since they'd left the desert behind and entered a moderate climate zone again, they had reverted to walking from morning until late in the evening. Even if she was used to the strain on her body, it still was pretty tiring – especially with the lack of sleep she'd gotten during their nights in the desert.

Although Ed's warmth had been pretty comforting, their closeness was something she hadn't been able to get used to yet. It was such an unfamiliar feeling to her, having a warm body beside her – even arms enveloping her some times – that she hadn't been able to really fall asleep. All she managed was dozing at best, because always when she was about to drop off for real, some part of her consciousness reminded her of another person's presence close by and kicked her back to full alertness – which often resulted in her body jerking weirdly. She caught herself a few times, accidentally punching Ed, but so far she'd managed to fool him by feigning sleep...

Since the day before, they had reverted to sleeping separately again; due to their travel up north, the temperature at night wasn't as harsh as it had been; but as beneficial this may have been for her sleep – she'd had to stay up half of the night to keep watch, as Gaara had warned them that nukenins were said to roam about these parts of Wind country.

Suffice to say, that she was glad they'd stop soon to set up their camp...

They silently continued their journey until they reached a river and as they'd been wandering through the forest for a few hours already, it was as good a place as any to stop for the night. Sticking to their routine, Sakura immediately went to explore the area, looking for fire wood and whatever edible plants she could find in the low light of the lantern she had with her. Ed on the other hand created one of his pretty useful shelters – which was definitely one of the things about him she could really appreciate: he always found a way to make himself useful and their lives easier.

As uncomfortable as it was to travel – she never had to forgo a roof over her head….

By the time she returned to the camp with her arms full of firewood and a few shrimpy berries, Ed was nowhere to be seen and had probably gone to set a few snares. It still unnerved her that there was practically nothing the guy wasn't good at – but she grudgingly had to admit, that it had its perks sometimes...

While she waited for Ed, she went about to light the fire – not in the least as graceful as him, who'd once ignited a few twigs with just as snap of his gloved fingers (though he'd seemed a bit surprised himself for some reason) – but was interrupted when she heard something rustle in the bushes just a few feet from their camp. Alarmed by the sound, she spun around and was already in a defensive stance, when she realized that it was only Ed. With a relieved sigh she let her guard down and lowered her arms again.

The lack of sleep was starting to make her paranoid...

"We should pack up and walk some way upstream – there's a place that's better situated", he said, while he just grabbed his luggage and awkwardly heaved it onto his shoulder. Usually he transmuted it into something resembling a backpack whenever they traveled, but obviously it wasn't worth the effort – which was the only reason why she didn't complain; if he was okay with carrying his trunk like that, they couldn't be walking that far, could they?

She silently gathered her things as well and carried some of the firewood with her, when they left to make it to their final stop for the night. Hopefully they'd soon reach their destination – her eyelids were already heavy and she really could use some sleep...

Her mouth was just halfway opened for a yawn, when she suddenly stumbled and froze in place – mid fall, if she may add! The situation immediately shocked her back to full awareness and she heard her heartbeat in her ears increasing it's rhythm, while she desperately tried to break loose from her invisible restraints... – without success.

"Oh what a pitiful sight, hm! The mighty Queen of Fist stepped into the trap of some No-Name Nukenin, hm", a singsong voice goaded. The strange way of talking, somehow reminded her of Deidara – but immobilizing his opponents hadn't really been his style; _and_ the guy was dead. Even if she couldn't see anything in the dark, she was sure that it was not the C4 obsessed nin.

However, whoever it was: he was really skilled with his henge, if he'd been able to fool her with his impersonation of Ed. She should've gotten suspicious as soon as she saw him shoulder his trunk in such an uncharacteristic manner!

"Now – should we play a bit with you, or merely let nature take it's course, hm? What do you think Ryu?"

"... I think you're talking too much – and we should return to the base" someone grunted irritably from off to the right.

"Aaaw – you're no fun! We should at least poke her a bit, hm?", the sadistic bastard suggested and suddenly stepped into the light of the lantern she still held in her immobile hand. If she'd been able to freeze even more, she would have, as the face she spotted in the dim light looked just as the ninja she'd been _sure,_ was dead.

But how could he be alive – _again_!?

Had Orochimaru used his resurrection jutsu again? -Had he managed to perfect it?

"Speechless – are we?", the man asked with amusement in his voice and stepped even closer, entering her personal space, "I remind you of someone, hm?"

She tried to answer, but realized that she wasn't even able to do _that_ and could only watch silently, as the bastard slowly positioned a kunai at her throat.

This couldn't be happening! There _had_ to be something she could do!?

Trying to gather her chakra in her arms to struggle against her restraints with more force, she noticed that it seemed to flow into nothing – as if it was leaking somewhere. Were those invisible ropes – she at least assumed the restraints were shaped like ropes – not only effectively keeping her in place, but also sucking up her chakra?!

She definitely had a problem if that was the case...

Where the hell was Ed when she needed him?! Had he stepped in a similar trap? He was just as sleep deprived as she after all...

"I'm too curious what's beneath that pretty dress of yours – I think I'll just have to take a look", the creep whispered close enough to her ear, that she could feel his breath on her skin. Before she even comprehended his words, the kunai had sliced every layer of clothes she had wrapped around her torso and even scratched her skin at a few places.

It gave her a strange sense of deja vu, feeling the cloth slipping open and revealing a generous V of her bare skin. But obviously that wasn't enough for the bastard, as he immediately grabbed the cloth and viciously pulled on her dress, making sure that he could slip it off her completely; the action left her standing there with wide eyes – clad in only her leggings.

"Nice breasts – a bit on the small side, but nice!", the asshole had the audacity to comment and if she'd been able to, she'd planted him six feet under with a single punch just for hat line. Without further ado he grabbed at her, cupping her left breast surprisingly careful in his palm.

Fuck – this immobility was driving her insane – she couldn't even grit her teeth for crying out loud!

"Have fun with this sick shit – I'm off", the other guy grunted from his hiding place and probably stumbled over a rock on his way, because she could hear a faint cry and a muffled sound – just like a body falling to the ground.

Served the bastard right for letting the creep play his games with her...

The Deidara double redirected his attention only briefly to his partner, but probably saw just as much as Sakura herself (which was nothing) and chuckled about the other's clumsiness before concentrating on her again.

"My brother never really had a sense for beauty – his art was always much too messy for my taste", the guy drawled – and if she'd been able to, her eyebrows would have probably given away that she'd finally realized _why_ he looked so much alike a man she knew for _certain_ to be dead. "He had no appreciation for the human body – whereas I, for that matter, like to keep things natural."

His breath was brushing her cheek with every word he said, as he still kept his face much too close for her comfort. It would've made her shiver in disgust, had her body been able to do that…

She'd never particularly liked blondes – they always made her self conscious about her own, strange hair color (especially long haired ones!) – and no matter how fond she'd become of a certain one over the past several weeks and months, the face in front of her still screamed for a punch.

The hand still groping her breast didn't make her fists itch any less – if she could only _move_ , damnit!

"You'll make such a nice statue – I'll even make an effort to embalm you, hm. That'll keep your flesh from rotting!", the creep explained enthusiastically while his hand slowly moved lower, brushing over her abdomen before it began to play with the hem of her leggings. "Doesn't that sound like a wonderful way to go, hm?"

"It sounds disgusting and if you don't let go of her this instant I won't guarantee for anything."

The voice suddenly growling from somewhere ahead of Sakura sounded vaguely familiar, but if her body had been able to, it would probably have shivered at the sheer fury ringing with it. Could that really have been Edward talking?

"What the-", was all the bastard feeling her up was able to get out, before she heard something clap and a few feet to their right, a familiar blue light appeared out of nowhere. She could now see that Ed had placed his hands on the earth, his face lit by the transmutation he was about to perform and not even a second later the ground around them began to split and a snake-like shape, with the width of a strong trunk, raked itself out of it and tightly around the speechless ninja in front of her, before the guy could even have moved a finger.

She felt a tugging on her body as the ground around them still shifted, realizing that whatever had kept her in place wasn't actually controlled by the creep himself, but had rather been something like a well prepared trap – and she'd been sleep deprived and _dumb_ enough to fall for it!

Just when the tugging started to become really uncomfortable, it felt like something had snapped, and the lantern slipped out of her hands, making her aware of the fact that she was suddenly able to move again.

As if it had a mind on its own, her arm pulled back and punched that asshole square in the face with as much force, as her body had left to spare. It felt strange, watching the blue eyes of the bastard widen in fear, when he realized – just as immobile as she'd been only moments before – that her fist would probably be the last thing he'd ever see.

When she withdrew her hand there wasn't much left of the feminine features that had reminded her so much of the former Akatsuki member. She knew she probably should have shown more self control; she should have captured and interrogated him first – she could've gotten rid of him afterwards just as well – but she simply hadn't been able to think straight as soon as she realized that she was able to defend herself again.

"This show just now really motivates me not to let you land a hit on me ever again."

Even if the comment had probably been meant as some sort of joke to lighten the mood, Edward's voice didn't hold any mirth. As if in trance she watched as he picked up the lamp that had slipped out of her fingers only moments before.

He held it up to inspect the face of the guy she'd just finished off, before he turned to regard her with a frown. It was strange that she didn't feel embarrassed or disgusted by the fact that she was standing half naked in front of him, but she also didn't feel the need to look for the other guy she _knew_ couldn't be too far and may still pose a threat to them – which was much more concerning in her opinion.

It gave her the distinct feeling that something wasn't completely right with her...

"It's debatable if that was really necessary, but I'll admit that for a moment there, I was tempted to just crash him as well...", he sighed, his eyes sticking stubbornly to her face while he handed her the lamp. As soon as he had both of his hands free, he shrugged out of his coat and took a step closer.

She almost had a mind to comment on the hesitant way he wrapped it around her shoulders, but the comfortable warmth it provided distracted her enough to drop that thought.

Ed stood pretty close, but despite that fact and the light clearly shining on his features, she couldn't see him clearly enough to read his features. Was there something wrong with her eyes? Did these stupid chakra strings still have an effect on her?

"Do you want me to give you a moment? It wouldn't be wise to leave you alone; I know for a fact that some of those bastards are still out there looking for me – the guys trying to fool me were refreshingly talkative... -But if you want me to, I could keep watch from the distance. I mean, I know what he- ... I mean, you told me about- ... and I'm a man too, so maybe you don't want me to be close-"

She didn't know what possessed her, but before she had a chance to even think about it, she'd wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her face in his chest. He smelled so much like earth and grass and _Ed_ , that she immediately felt grounded, only now realizing that her hands were still trembling where they gripped his shirt at his back. The cloth beneath her face felt suspiciously wet as well, telling her that she must've started crying at some point.

It was embarrassing how pathetic she acted – it hadn't been enough that she'd needed his help to get rid of the creep, she also had to have a meltdown and ruin his clothes...

"'m sorry", she muttered into his chest and tried to get a hold of herself, but it only resulted in a few muted sobs.

"What the hell are you sorry for?" Despite his rather aggressive words, his voice sounded gentle, almost soothing, before she felt his hands move from her shoulders down her back, pulling her into a protective embrace. "I'm sorry it took me so long – they tried to fool me as well. But their impersonation of you obviously wasn't nearly as accurate as the one of me, I assume. That's why I was able to realize there was something wrong, _before_ I stepped into their trap. And by the time I started looking for you, your chakra signal was so weak – almost nonexistent – that I just followed the next best I could find."

He sighed deeply before she felt him resting his head on top of hers. "It's just my luck that I headed in the totally wrong direction first and found another two of those bastards. I had to incapacitate them before I could try to follow the next lead. It was almost too late – I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner..."

"Its not your job to look after me...", Sakura weakly pointed out, trying to sound resolute and not as pathetic and _thankful_ as she felt in that moment. "I'm a _kunoichi_ – they shouldn't have been able to lead me into a trap like that!"

"You may be a kunoichi, but you're still _human_ ", Ed reminded her gently and she felt one of his hands caress the back of her head as if to emphasize, "And I know for a fact that you didn't get much sleep lately. It's only natural that you'd let your guard down once in a while..."

She shook her head, her face rubbing against the damp cotton of Ed's shirt in the process, and took a deep breath. "I should've realized it wasn't you", she whispered, as her fingers dug into his back in a desperate attempt to make him understand, "Your chakra is so unique – if I'd only paid attention-"

" _'Ifs'_ won't change anything. This could've happened to _anyone_ – don't be so hard on yourself", he interrupted her firmly but still with a soft voice and brushed his fingers through her hair. "We should agree on some kind of code to make sure something like this won't happen again."

The suggestion was a good idea and had the Elemental countries not been in peace for the past few years, it would've been standard procedure anyway. Why they hadn't thought of something like that as soon as Gaara told them about the nukenins was beyond her...

"Nothing could be as telling, as your chakra", she mumbled and looked up at him for the first time in what had felt like hours to her. "You should let it flare for a moment whenever we meet after we split up for whatever reason."

"Sounds like a plan. And you should just make any transmutation that comes to your mind – I don't think any other ninja besides you is able to do that", he suggested with a forced smile and brushed a thumb over her cheek. The movement felt damp, so it probably was to get rid of the tears still staining her face. She quickly moved to vigorously wipe at her cheeks herself and make herself somewhat presentable again, before she nodded in agreement and tightened the coat still wrapped loosely around her body. The arm still encircling her up to that point, fell to Ed's side when he took a step back and cleared his throat.

"I should probably make sure that our captives are still where I left them", he explained and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. She was familiar with the gesture, as Naruto often resorted to it whenever he was kind of embarrassed, but she couldn't remember Ed ever doing anything like that. Well, there were probably firsts for everything...

"I'll just get the guy in the bushes, then we can head back to the river and set our camp up there, okay?", he asked with a slightly bent head, looking at her through his fringes.

"Guy in the bushes?", she heard herself asking, which caused him to grin and turn, disappearing in the dark for a few moments, only to step back into the lamplight with an unconscious man dangling from his shoulder like a sack of rice.

"This fucker was the accomplice of the creep over there", he explained and gestured towards the still wrapped up Deidara-double – or what was left of him... When Ed reached her side, she thought they'd head back to the river as planned, but she turned in confusion when she realized that he had stopped.

"I can't leave him like that...", he muttered, looking at the corpse hanging lifelessly in the stone and earth construct he'd wrapped the guy in. Without any further explanation Ed bent to drop the unconscious ninja on the ground, before he clapped his hands and placed them on the earth in front of him. With the telltale sizzling and the familiar blue light, the transmutation caused the ground to shift and crack again and within the next second, the the dead ninja had been swallowed as a whole.

Sakura wasn't entirely sure if she should be glad that she wouldn't have to cover up herself, or pissed, that he'd made an effort to bury the bastard, so she didn't comment on it and quietly fell into his step when Ed started to head towards the river.

He left her briefly to fetch the other ninjas he'd been talking about, but only after he'd created a transmutation circle around her that would keep her safe. The unconscious ninja had been deposited in a makeshift cell their other hostages would soon occupy as well.

Sakura had no idea how long it took Ed to fetch the other missing-nin to their resting place, but it felt like ages to her, forced to relive the recent incident in her head over and over again.

No matter how she looked at it – it had been _her_ fault, just as it had been back then. Only this time it had been a lack of sleep that led to such a situation – not her own cowardice to stand up to a superior.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone placing a hand on her shoulder, her head almost spinning at the speed she'd moved it, to look at the culprit.

"What?!", she hissed in annoyance, when she'd realized it was only Ed, who'd obviously returned.

"You should make yourself more comfortable or you'll regret it tomorrow", he replied with a frown, having his hand retreat immediately when she'd jerked away. Without another word he turned and before she knew it, the ground around them moved and shifted to form something resembling a house – without any doors or windows, just with a few holes to make sure they had enough air inside.

"I made sure our guests stay where they are and won't get any funny ideas. Their strange chakra depriving strings are damn handy", Ed explained, while he placed both of their lamps in the middle of the room. "This whole place is also secured by several different warning systems as well as snares. Nobody should be able to intrude and disturb our sleep – because we both really need it", he stated with a piercing glance in her direction, reminding her of the way she had insisted they'd take turns keeping watch the previous few nights. "We can't afford to waste half of the night – we both already have troubles maintaining our concentration. They wouldn't have been able to trick us if we'd been on alert – as we should've been..."

"They only tricked _me_. _You_ realized that something was off soon enough...", Sakura muttered almost a bit reproachfully. Why had he been able to see through their illusions so easily, while she had followed the enemy without a second thought?

"I wouldn't call that soon enough – if I had, you wouldn't have needed to mend your clothes", he pointed out with a sigh and brushed one of his hands tiredly over his face, before he reached for the coat still wrapped around her shoulders.

"...which you didn't do yet, for whatever reason...", he realized and immediately let go, to keep her covered up.

"It didn't cross my mind...", the kunoichi muttered a bit self conscious, "And I'm not sure if I'd be able to in my current state. I'd probably make even more of a mess..."

Sakura could almost feel Ed's eyes examining her, but it took a while before he spoke again.

"You can change into something else – I'll mend it for you", he suggested and turned around, probably to give her a bit of privacy or something, "It's the least I can do..."

She couldn't help but snort at that remark, but did as he'd told her to.

"You don't owe me anything, Ed", she clarified when she was done and tipped his shoulder to tell him, that he could turn around again. "If anything, I owe you something. My life actually, so... thanks. I really don't what to think what the creep would've done to me..."

"Me neither", he muttered darkly and picked the remnants of her red dress from the ground, where she'd left it. "It's not a big deal, mending clothes was one of the first things I learned."

"Your mother must've been pretty happy about that, I suppose", Sakura chuckled as she watched how the cloth stitched itself together again in the cold blue transmutation light. Ed looked up at her for a moment, his jaw visibly clenching, but quickly averted his eyes again, holding her newly mended dress out to her.

"Unfortunately she was already dead by the time I realized how much easier life would be with an ability like that..."

"I'm sorry Ed, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay. It's been a long time ago."

She eyed him skeptically, but he stubbornly kept his face averted, so she couldn't really gauge what was going on inside of his head. With a sigh she quickly put her dress on, before she prepared her sleeping bag and slipped inside, turning the light of her lamp off when she was settled.

"Good night Ed", she muttered, glancing his way a last time before she closed her eyes. He was still sitting there, in the shine of his lamplight, obviously deep in thought, but her words had startled him back to reality.

"You too Sakura", he mumbled his reply, while he pulled the blankets out of his backpack, but stopped his movements for a moment to look up at her. "If you need anything- ... Well, you know where I am...", he added softly before he made himself comfortable and turned the last light-source in the room off.

And suddenly it was pitch black around her, the only thing interrupting the silence and keeping her from thinking about the day's incidents, being Ed's turning every once in a while and even that stopped after a few minutes.

It didn't matter if she kept her eyes open or not, but even if she knew that – and how desperately her body needed to sleep! – she couldn't bring herself to relax. Not being able to see made her concentrate on her other senses and with the recent events, it was no surprise that she imagined hands running up and down her body without her consent.

Sakura knew her mind was just playing tricks on her (she'd been through situations like this enough times to be quite accustomed to those repercussions), but that didn't mean she wasn't still terrified by the feeling. Squirming in her sleeping bag she desperately tried to find a position it would stop – maybe if she pulled the fabric close enough to almost hurt?

There was nobody else in their little shelter beside Ed – rationally she knew that, but how to tell her body that? – The skin groped by the hands of a ninja so painstakingly alike one of her worst nightmares?

When she realized that even squishing herself into her sleeping bag like a cocoon wouldn't work, she irritatedly crawled out on shaky limbs and groped her way in the direction she expected Ed's sleeping place to be.

They had agreed that they'd sleep separately as long as the weather allowed it, but desperate times call for desperate measures – and he hopefully wouldn't protest too much.

It felt like ages until her fingers finally hit something resembling fabric and after a few careful movements along the surface she had an idea that she'd indeed finally found what she'd been looking for. She slowly felt her way along the edges of one blanket to figure out where Ed's head was and a soft sigh left her mouth when she suddenly felt warm air brushing across her skin. Without a second thought she grabbed the two blankets he'd buried himself under, just enough to slip beside him in a fluid movement.

"You should be glad that I was still somewhat awake, otherwise I could've reacted pretty violently..."

Despite the soft and sleepy voice Ed had spoken in, her body immediately stiffened, caught in the act as she was. How embarrassing was that?

Hell, she was a kunoichi- why the hell did she even think of seeking some sort of comfort?!

"'m sorry", she muttered and moved so their bodies were separated by a few centimeters, "I didn't mean to wake you..."

"I just told you, you didn't, woman", he reminded her with a sigh and before she knew it, her front was pressed against his again, a strong arm wrapping around her body, pulling her closer and keeping her in place. The funny fact was: it didn't _at all_ trigger any of those silly imaginations of her – on the contrary; it made her feel _safe_. How strange was that?! "It would be nice to get a warning, though... Your first few pads scared the shit out of me."

„…I'll try to warn you next time..."

"You plan to crawl under my blankets again?", he chuckled softly, while his hand ran up and down her back soothingly. "I knew you liked me more than you let on!"

His voice was teasing and she knew he didn't really mean what he said; still she couldn't help blood rushing to her head, making her face feel like it was on fire.

Because he was right, in a way.

She _did_ like him more than she wanted anyone to know...

How could she _not_ fall for a man as brilliant as him? It was just her luck that he was a player _and_ from another country – a country he intended to return to. _Of course_ he was one of those guys, who were just interested in a quick fuck and nothing more – even if she'd tried to be okay with that, there was still the problem that she absolutely despised physical contact beyond a certain level. Even if she wanted to – she couldn't give him what he is looking for...

"Oh, just shut up an sleep, idiot", she muttered into his shirt, hiding her face against his chest.

"Oh – did I actually hit a nerve there?", she heard him asking in a teasing voice and his hand on her back stilled for a moment as if he honestly expected an answer for that.

Seriously?!

"Just go to sleep already!"

She probably would've been embarrassed by how desperate her voice sounded, if she'd not been so dead tired, but currently it didn't faze her at all, as long as she'd been able to deliver the message...

"Okay chéri, have a good rest", he relented softly, while his hand resumed it's soothing movements. Suddenly feeling the need to look up at Ed, Sakura lifted her head and immediately felt stupid. It was still pitch black around them and she couldn't see his face. But before she could've moved to rest her face against his chest again, the arm around her quickly shifted and she felt fingers tangle in her hair before something soft touched her forehead. "I hope you'll have nice dreams Sakura", he breathed against her skin and she could feel his lips moving with every word.

Her body acted on its own then; her hands feeling their way along his body until they reached his head, where they stopped on either side of it, some her fingers tangling in his strong hair in the process. Only when her lips already touched part of his – she had miscalculated and navigated a bit too low, only hitting his bottom lip with her upper one – she realized what she was doing and also became aware of the fingers, now gripping her hair almost painfully.

She could only stare into the dark with wide eyes, surprised by her own actions and listen to Ed's sharp intake of air – intense enough to produce a hissing sound.

"Sakura", he began not unpleasantly, but with a firm voice, "You shouldn't offer anything you don't intend to deliver."

It took her a moment to understand what he was trying to say and now it was her, who gasped for air.

"I didn't mean it like that – I just- ... I'm probably not in my right mind at the moment…", she immediately tried to explain, "I just wanted to say thanks, I guess? You saved me today and you're always so gentle and kind lately. I'm just a bit overwhelmed at the moment, that's all!"

She could hear a huff coming from him, before he chuckled softly. It sounded almost a bit bitter, but that was probably just her imagination playing tricks on her again. The fingers in her hair loosened their grip and brushed down her neck to resume their gentle up and down motion along her spine, causing Sakura to almost sigh in relief.

"Just don't toy with me, okay? I don't trust people easily, but- ... Just don't do it again."

Ed suddenly sounded deadly tired, even if his hand still moved soothingly along her back.

"I won't", she assured him in a tiny voice, hiding her face against his chest again – as if he could've seen her in the first place...

"Okay. Just sleep already – we still have a long journey ahead of us", he reminded her softly, finally resting his hand, his fingers softly brushing her neck.

"Good night, Ed. I'm sorry if I upset you..."

"Just forget about it and sleep, woman", he sighed, slightly irritatedly and pulled her even closer towards his body. "I'm here. If anyone tries to enter the perimeter, I'll know it. Just relax and rest already."

All she was able to produce was a faint _'mhm'_ before she drifted off to sleep, wrapped in warmth and this comfortable scent she'd come to associate with safety.

* * *

 **AN:** Sorry it took me so long to update :(

Thank you all for your reviews - I'm sorry I don't have the time to answer them at the moment, but each of them made me really happy :)  
Thanks for reading and I hope some of you will leave me a few words again ;)

Till next chapter  
~Orange


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